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🇵🇾 Paraguay /Crime & Justice

Sara Duterte Appears in Court That Ordered Her Arrest Over Threats Against Marcos Jr.

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire Named sources In the courts
  • Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte appeared before a Quezon City court after it ordered her arrest over three serious-threat charges involving President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and others.
  • The court set bail at 120,000 Philippine pesos per charge, while Duterte said she felt unsafe and distrusted the police and courts.
  • The case adds to a political split between the Marcos and Duterte families and could affect Duterte’s plans to seek the presidency in 2028.

Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte appeared before a court in Quezon City after it ordered her arrest over alleged threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., his wife and the former House speaker. She arrived with her lawyers and told reporters she felt unsafe and had received threats.

The immediate legal consequences could be limited if she pays bail, but the political repercussions are obviously significant.

· Cleve V. ArguellesThe political scientist assessed the possible impact of the court case in a post on X.

The court issued the arrest order after finding probable cause to put Duterte on trial on three serious-threat charges. It set bail at 120,000 Philippine pesos, about $1,900, for each charge. Her legal team had not clarified whether she would pay. The order does not establish guilt.

The case dates to late 2024, when Duterte’s political break with Marcos intensified. She said at the time that she had hired someone to kill the president, his wife and the then-House speaker if she herself were killed. Political scientist Cleve V. Arguelles said the immediate legal consequences could remain limited if she paid bail, but the political repercussions were significant. He said it remained unclear whether Filipinos would view the proceedings as accountability or political persecution.

They have harassed the place where my mother and my son are staying. Where do I go?

· Sara DuterteDuterte described threats and insecurity as she arrived at court.

Duterte told the Philstar newspaper that people had harassed the place where her mother and son were staying. “Where do I go?” she asked, adding that harassment would not stop if she paid bail and that she did not trust the police or courts. She and Marcos had allied in the 2022 election before their relationship collapsed, leading to her departure from the government in June 2024. Duterte also faces an impeachment trial in the Senate over allegations including abuse of power, corruption and threats against the president. A verdict is expected before the end of the year and could remove her from office and bar her from seeking the presidency in 2028.

I do not feel safe at all.

· Sara DuterteShe told reporters that she distrusted the police and courts.
About this summary

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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