A court in Quezon City, near Manila, ordered the arrest of Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte on Friday over allegations that she threatened to have President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, his wife and Martin Romualdez killed. Judges rejected her lawyers’ request to delay the warrant.
The court set bail at $1,900 for each of the three grave-threat charges filed against Duterte last month. Her lawyer, Paul Lawrence Lim, said she had no intention of evading the law and would continue using her legal remedies.
Why the warrant matters politically
The allegations are also central to an impeachment trial now being heard by the Senate. A guilty verdict in that proceeding would remove Duterte from office and end her plans to seek the presidency in 2028.
The House of Representatives’ impeachment case also includes allegations involving corruption and unexplained wealth linked to Duterte’s time as vice president and, earlier, as education secretary. She denies wrongdoing, and the Senate hearing has been running for nine weeks.
What we know now
- The warrant concerns three criminal charges of grave threat.
- The alleged targets are Marcos, his wife and Romualdez, who was then speaker of the House of Representatives.
- A conviction on the criminal charges carries a maximum sentence of six months in jail.
What led to the charges
The dispute began in November 2024, when Duterte said she had arranged for a hitman to kill Marcos, his wife and Romualdez if she were killed. Duterte later said she was expressing fears for her safety after her relationship with Marcos deteriorated.
Duterte and Marcos ran as political allies in 2022 before their partnership collapsed into open hostility. A Justice Department spokesman confirmed the warrant and rejected her lawyers’ argument that she could not be prosecuted while the same conduct was being examined in the impeachment trial.
What happens next
Officials expect Duterte to post bail quickly, making immediate detention unlikely. Her criminal case and the Senate impeachment proceedings will continue separately.
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