‘Given these serious legal issues, the Vice President will exercise all available legal remedies in due course,’ Duterte’s lawyer Paul Lawrence Lim says
MANILA, Philippines – Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecutors filed three counts of grave threats case against Vice President Sara Duterte on Tuesday, August 11, in relation to statements she made against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his family in 2024.
“We confirm that the [case] for grave threats against Vice President Sara Duterte was filed today, August 11, 2026, at around 1:30 pm with the Office of the Clerk of Court of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court,” DOJ spokesperson Raphael Martinez told reporters.
This is the same grave threats allegation in Duterte’s ongoing impeachment trial which was investigated by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
The filing of the case against Duterte means that DOJ prosecutors found prima facie evidence with reasonable certainty of conviction or enough evidence to ensure that the case would lead to a guilty verdict.
“The inciting to sedition case was dismissed,” Martinez added.
Duterte’s legal team, in a statement on Tuesday afternoon, confirmed the filing of cases against the Vice President, adding that they had anticipated and prepared for this outcome.
“Under our laws, the Vice President continues to be presumed innocent and is confident that the charges against her will ultimately be dismissed. Equally important, as a sitting impeachable officer, the Vice President may not be prosecuted for an alleged offense that is also the subject of an impeachment case,” said Duterte’s lawyer Paul Lawrence Lim.
“Given these serious legal issues, the Vice President will exercise all available legal remedies in due course,” he added.
In November 2025, the NBI filed criminal complaints of grave threats and inciting to sedition against the Vice President over her statement that she had allegedly arranged to assassinate Marcos, First lady Liza Araneta Marcos, and former speaker Martin Romualdez if she were killed first.
These allegations stemmed from the Vice President’s midnight virtual press conference on November 23, 2024, where she told her supporters not to worry about her safety as she had already “talked to someone” to ensure that if she gets killed, that person should assassinate Marcos and his family members. Duterte reiterated at the time that she was not joking.
Of the four articles of impeachment or cases against Duterte at the Senate impeachment court, the prosecution first presented its evidence for grave threats or the fourth article. House prosecutors presented three witnesses from the NBI, including incumbent Director Melvin Matibag. – Rappler.com
