QC court orders Sara Duterte’s arrest in ‘threats’ case

THE RANT THAT STARTED IT ALL Almost two years since the nation witnessed this meltdown of Vice President SaraDuterte, the incident—captured in this screengrab from the livestream feed—continues to hound her both in political andlegal arenas. MANILA, Philippines — Two months into her Senate impeachment trial, Vice President Sara Duterte is now facing a second battle—this time in a regular court. The Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC) on Friday issued an arrest warrant for the Vice President over the alleged assassination threats she made against her former ally, President Marcos, paving the way for the case to proceed to trial. The case stemmed from the profanity-laced statements she made against the President, first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former Speaker Martin Romualdez, a cousin of Marcos, at an online press briefing two years ago. Article continues after this advertisement A copy of the arrest warrant dated Sept. 4 and signed by Presiding Judge Maria Angelica De Ramos showed that the court had set bail at P120,000 for each of the three counts of grave threats in violation of Section 6 of Republic Act No. 10175, or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012. READ: Remulla: Sara Duterte’s camp to post bail in grave threats case De Ramos’ order indicated Duterte’s office address to be at Robinsons Cybergate Plaza along Edsa in Mandaluyong City, where the warrant may be served. Duterte has yet to post bail at press time, though her lawyer, Paul Lawrence Lim, said in a statement earlier in the day that she “has no intention of evading the law and will continue to exercise all her legal remedies.” Prosecutors at the Department of Justice (DOJ) charged Duterte last month with grave threats, citing the late-night news briefing on Nov. 23, 2024, where she said: Article continues after this advertisement “‘Wag kang mag-alala sa security ko kasi may kinausap na ko na tao. Sinabi ko sa kaniya, ‘‘pag pinatay ako, patayin mo si BBM, si Liza Araneta, at si Martin Romualdez.’ No joke, no joke (Do not worry about my security because I already spoke to someone. I said, ‘If I am killed, kill BBM, Liza Araneta, and Martin Romualdez.’ No joke, no joke).” Proceed to trial The Vice President was then fuming over the detention of her chief of staff, Zuleika Lopez, by the House of Representatives, where lawmakers earlier cited Lopez in contempt during a committee inquiry into Sara’s alleged misuse of confidential funds. Article continues after this advertisement The threats later constituted one of the four main charges in the articles of impeachment adopted by the House against the Vice President, which the Senate is currently hearing as an impeachment court. House prosecutors devoted the first trial sessions to the presentation of evidence and witnesses regarding the threats, covered under Article 4, in nine hearings from July 7 to July 22. Among the key witnesses presented were officials of the National Bureau of Investigation, who were asked to authenticate the livestream recording of the briefing and also expound on the threats as a national security concern since they were directed at the President. DOJ spokesperson Polo Martinez said a separate resolution issued by Branch 98 of the Quezon City RTC dismissed the motion earlier filed by Duterte’s lawyers to defer or recall the issuance of the arrest warrant against her. “The case shall now proceed to trial,” Martinez said in a message to reporters. “As a matter of procedure, warrants of arrest are transmitted directly by the court to the appropriate law enforcement agencies for implementation.” “The department respects the court’s ruling and reaffirms its commitment to the rule of law,” he added. Challenge before CA The DOJ reiterated its earlier position that immunity rests solely on the President as the Chief Executive. “Which is why the DOJ filed the case against the accused (Vice President),” Martinez stressed. The alleged assassination threat forms a crucial element of Duterte’s ongoing impeachment trial, where a guilty verdict would see her removed from office and spell an end to a planned run for president in 2028. Duterte first announced her candidacy in February. Under Philippine laws, a criminal conviction on the charge of grave threats would carry a jail term of up to six months. Paolo Tamase, associate dean at the University of the Philippines College of Law, told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that the warrant could yet be challenged at a higher court. “She can potentially question the issuance of the warrant of arrest, which means she would go up to the Court of Appeals (CA) or potentially the Supreme Court,” he said. DOJ 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. Duterte was impeached in May by the House of Representatives on charges that also included graft and corruption. Bicol Saro Rep. Terry Ridon said the criminal case is separate from Duterte’s impeachment proceedings, noting that the prosecution panel will continue to press on. Ridon, a member of the House prosecution panel in the impeachment trial, said the arrest warrant is “not, by itself, a determination of guilt.” He also said the Vice President “will have every opportunity to present her defenses before the proper court.” “The impeachment proceedings are a separate constitutional accountability process. The Senate Impeachment Court will independently determine the matters properly before it,” Ridon said in a statement on Friday. “For its part, the House prosecution panel will continue performing its constitutional mandate and prosecute the impeachment case until its conclusion,” he added. Probable cause Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong said the warrant has also reminded the public that courts do not make such decisions without finding probable cause. “The issuance of an arrest warrant is not a finding of guilt. Due process must be observed at every stage,” Adiong said in a statement on Friday. “A court, however, does not issue a warrant without probable cause. That determination has now been made.” Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again. Your subscription has been successful. He added that every legal remedy must be made available to Duterte, but she should avail of those remedies within the court and not outside it. —WITH REPORTS FROM AFP, GABRIEL PABICO LALU, AND LUISA CABATO