A Philippine court on Friday ordered the arrest of Vice President Sara Duterte, escalating a politically explosive case tied to allegations that she publicly threatened to have President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and two others assassinated.
Duterte had already been impeached by the House of Representatives in May over the same accusations, along with alleged financial irregularities.
The legal pressure comes amid a deepening power struggle between Duterte and Marcos, whose alliance has unraveled into one of the country’s most closely watched political confrontations.
If convicted, Duterte could see her path to a 2028 presidential run thrown into jeopardy, just as Marcos’ single six-year term is set to end.
A lawyer for the vice president, who has denied the allegations, indicated she is expected to post bail rather than remain in custody while the case proceeds before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court.
“She has no intention of evading the law and will continue to exercise all her legal remedies,” Paul Lawrence Lim said in a statement, offering no further details.
The case centers on remarks Duterte made during a 2024 online news conference, when she said she had instructed an assassin to kill Marcos, his wife and then-House Speaker Martin Romualdez if she herself were killed, as tensions among the political rivals intensified.
Duterte later underscored that the statement should not be dismissed as a joke.
She later said she wasn’t threatening Marcos but was expressing concern for her own safety.
Her remarks set off a criminal investigation and national security concerns.
Marcos and Duterte were running mates in the 2022 elections in a whirlwind alliance that combined the vote-getting power of two of the country’s most formidable political dynasties, but the union rapidly fell apart.
The vice president is the daughter of former President Rodrigo Duterte, Marcos’ predecessor.
Rodrigo Duterte was arrested last year on orders of the International Criminal Court and detained in The Hague, where he is scheduled to face trial over alleged crimes against humanity on Nov. 30.
The charges are in connection with brutal anti-drugs crackdowns that left thousands of mostly poor suspects dead while Duterte was in power.
He has denied authorizing extrajudicial killings but repeatedly threatened suspects with death while in office.
Last May, the House of Representatives, which is dominated by Marcos’ allies, voted overwhelmingly to impeach the vice president over alleged unexplained wealth, misuse of confidential state funds and her threats against Marcos, his wife and Romualdez.
The Philippine Senate, acting as an impeachment court, opened her televised trial in July.
If convicted of the charges, Duterte may be permanently disqualified from holding public office and will prohibit her from seeking the presidency in 2028.
Marcos and the Dutertes have contrasting geopolitical leanings.
Marcos has expanded defense engagements with the United States, his country’s treaty ally, as his administration stood up to China’s increasingly aggressive actions in the disputed South China Sea.
Rodrigo Duterte had nurtured cozy ties with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian leader Vladimir Putin while threatening to sever ties with Washington.
The vice president has come under fire for not condemning China’s assaults, including with the use of powerful water cannons, against Filipino forces and fishermen in the disputed waters.
