VP Sara Duterte has no immunity from suit, DOJ says

The Department of Justice (DoJ) said Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio has no immunity from suit, noting that such protection applies only to the President under Philippine law and jurisprudence. “The Vice-President in this particular case has no immunity from suit,” Justice Secretary Fredderick A. Vida told a news briefing on Thursday, referring to Ms. Duterte’s criminal case before a Quezon City regional trial court. The DoJ filed three counts of grave threats against Ms. Duterte over remarks she made during a virtual press conference in November 2024. She said she had arranged for someone to assassinate President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., First Lady Marie Louise Araneta-Marcos and then-Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez if she were killed. Ms. Duterte has said her remarks were not a genuine threat and were “maliciously taken out of logical context.” She made the remarks while opposing a House committee order to transfer her chief of staff, Zuleika T. Lopez, from the chamber’s detention facility to the Correctional Institution for Women. The body was investigating Ms. Duterte’s use of confidential funds. The National Bureau of Investigation separately filed an inciting-to-sedition complaint over the remarks in February 2025. The DoJ dismissed that complaint in August, saying prosecutors found no prima facie evidence with reasonable certainty of conviction. The grave-threat case proceeded before the trial court and is also among the grounds cited in the impeachment case against Ms. Duterte before the Senate. Ms. Duterte’s camp challenged the criminal case through a motion to quash, arguing that the court lacked jurisdiction because impeachable officials cannot be prosecuted in regular courts while in office. Her counsel, Paul Lawrence Lim, has argued that the Vice-President has limited procedural immunity while serving in office. The trial court rejected the challenge and found probable cause to hold Ms. Duterte for trial on the three counts. The court issued an arrest warrant on Sept. 4 and set bail at P120,000 for each count. Ms. Duterte posted P360,000 bail the following day. “The Department of Justice is consistent that in the current law and legal system in the Philippines, the only one who has immunity from suit is our beloved President,” Mr. Vida said. The Supreme Court has recognized immunity from suit for a sitting President. In a 2010 ruling, the tribunal said presidential immunity from suit “remains preserved under our system of government, albeit not expressly reserved in the present Constitution.” The tribunal also said a president “may not be sued in any civil or criminal case” during his tenure. The 1987 Constitution lists the President and Vice-President among officials who may be impeached but does not expressly provide presidential immunity. The DoJ has maintained that the immunity recognized by jurisprudence applies only to the President. Asked about Ms. Duterte’s statement that she does not feel safe and does not trust the court, Mr. Vida said such concerns should not be dismissed. “It is saddening, but it is proven by our law enforcement agencies that they are ready and will carry out their duties to secure not only our Vice-President, but all Filipinos,” he said. — Mark Joseph M. Sanchez