Warrant out: Sara Duterte facing arrest in grave threats case
MANILA, Philippines (2nd update, 3:49 p.m.) — Vice President Sara Duterte is now facing arrest for having mentioned involving a hitman supposedly targeting President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos and then-speaker Martin Romualdez.
Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 98 issued the warrant on Friday, September 4, for three counts of grave threats.
The court set bail at P120,000 for each count.
The Department of Justice said the court also denied Duterte's "Motion to Defer the Issuance of or Recall Arrest Warrant and Quash the Information."
In the same resolution, the court found probable cause to hold Duterte for trial on all three counts of grave threats and ordered the issuance of the arrest warrant, according to the DOJ.
"The Department respects the Court's ruling and reaffirms its commitment to the rule of law," the DOJ said.
Served
Duterte, in a statement, said her office received the warrant Friday.
"I confirm that I was given notice of a warrant of arrest dated September 4, 2026 issued by Judge Maria Angelica De Ramos of Branch 98, Quezon City and served by PNP Col Christine Tabdi in the Office of the Vice President. My lawyers Attys Paul Lim and Clifford Chua will attend to this matter immediately," she said.
Lim, Duterte's counsel, said the vice president and her team will exhaust legal remedies available to them.
"Regardless of the question on jurisdiction, she has no intention of evading the law and will continue to exercise all her legal remedies," Lim's statement read.
It was not immediately clear whether Duterte would turn herself in in response to the warrant.
Prosecutors filed the complaint against Duterte on August 11, amid her ongoing Senate impeachment trial. The filing stemmed from findings that the National Bureau of Investigation forwarded to the DOJ in February 2025.
The threats Duterte made during online press conferences in October and December 2024 also formed part of Article IV of the articles of impeachment against her.
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