VP Sara faces arrest

CEBU, Philippines — The Regional Trial Court in Quezon City has issued an arrest warrant for Vice President Sara Duterte over an alleged death threat against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., with her defense team saying she would "exercise all her legal remedies."

Duterte was charged last month with grave threats stemming from a late-night news briefing in which she claimed to have hired a hitman to kill the president, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez should she be killed first.

The alleged assassination threat also forms a crucial element of her ongoing Senate impeachment trial, where a guilty verdict could see her removed from office and permanently barred from holding public office.

Under the Revised Penal Code, a criminal conviction on the charge carries a jail term of up to six months.

Department of Justice spokesperson Polo Martinez confirmed that the warrant had been issued after the court denied a motion to defer its issuance.

Duterte, in a statement, also confirmed that her office received the warrant on 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 legal team would exhaust all available remedies.

"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 surrender in response to the warrant.

Justice officials have rejected arguments by the vice president's legal team that she cannot be prosecuted for offenses that are also tied to her impeachment case.

Duterte was impeached by the House of Representatives in May on charges that also included graft and corruption.

A guilty verdict in the Senate, where her trial recently concluded its ninth week, would effectively end her planned bid for the presidency in 2028.

Duterte first announced her presidential candidacy in February. (CEBU NEWS)