Philippine court orders arrest of Vice President Duterte

A Philippine court ordered the arrest of Vice President Sara Duterte on Friday over allegations that she threatened to have President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., his wife and a former House speaker killed, escalating a political and legal fight that could shape the country’s 2028 presidential race.

The warrant was issued by a court in Quezon City, near Manila, after judges rejected an effort by Duterte’s lawyers to delay it, Al Jazeera reported. The charges stem from a November 2024 online news conference in which Duterte said she had arranged for a hitman to kill Marcos, his wife and Martin Romualdez, then speaker of the House of Representatives and Marcos’ cousin, if she herself were killed.

Duterte later said she was not threatening the president but expressing fear for her own safety after her alliance with Marcos collapsed. Her remarks prompted a criminal investigation and raised national security concerns.

Her lawyer, Paul Lawrence Lim, said Duterte would continue to fight the case and suggested she would post bail rather than be detained while facing trial.

“She has no intention of evading the law and will continue to exercise all her legal remedies,” Lim said in a statement.

Al Jazeera reported that bail was set at $1,900 for each of three charges of “grave threat” filed against her last month. A justice department spokesman confirmed the warrant and rejected her legal team’s argument that Duterte cannot be prosecuted while the same conduct is being reviewed in her impeachment trial. Officials expect her to post bail quickly, the outlet reported. A conviction on the criminal charges carries a maximum sentence of six months in jail, according to Al Jazeera.

The arrest order adds to Duterte’s mounting legal troubles. The House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly in May to impeach her over the same alleged threats, as well as alleged unexplained wealth and misuse of confidential state funds. The chamber is dominated by Marcos allies. The Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, opened a televised trial in July; Al Jazeera reported the hearing has been running for nine weeks. Duterte denies wrongdoing.

If convicted in the impeachment trial, Duterte could be removed from office and permanently disqualified from holding public office, blocking a potential run for president in 2028, when Marcos’ six-year term ends.

Marcos and Duterte ran together in the 2022 election in an alliance that united two of the Philippines’ most powerful political families. It quickly unraveled into open hostility. Duterte is the daughter of former President Rodrigo Duterte, Marcos’ predecessor.

Rodrigo Duterte was arrested last year on orders of the International Criminal Court and is being held in The Hague, where he is scheduled to face trial on Nov. 30 over alleged crimes against humanity tied to his anti-drug campaign. NPR reported that the crackdown left thousands of mostly poor suspects dead; Al Jazeera said the campaign is estimated to have cost tens of thousands of lives. The former president has denied authorizing extrajudicial killings, though NPR reported he repeatedly threatened drug suspects with death while in office.

The feud also reflects sharp differences in foreign policy. Marcos has expanded defense engagements with the United States, a treaty ally, as his administration pushes back against China’s actions in the disputed South China Sea. Rodrigo Duterte cultivated close ties with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian leader Vladimir Putin while threatening to cut ties with Washington. Sara Duterte has faced criticism for not condemning China’s actions against Filipino forces and fishermen in disputed waters, including the use of powerful water cannons.