MANILA, Philippines | September 5, 2026 — Vice President Sara Duterte posted ₱360,000 bail on Saturday, a day after a Quezon City court issued a warrant for her arrest over three counts of grave threats involving President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
The Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 98 set bail at ₱120,000 for each count after finding probable cause to put Duterte on trial. Her appearance before the court was treated as a voluntary surrender, according to local reports.
The criminal case stems from Duterte’s controversial remarks during an online press conference in November 2024, when she said she had spoken to a contract killer and instructed the person to kill Marcos, his wife and Romualdez if she herself were killed.
Duterte has denied that her remarks constituted an actual threat. She has said they were made in the context of concerns for her own security and accused the administration of harassment. Her lawyers have said she will pursue all available legal remedies. Reuters reported that Duterte has also expressed distrust of law enforcement and the judiciary and raised concerns about her personal safety.
The arrest warrant does not constitute a finding of guilt. Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong, spokesperson for the House impeachment prosecution panel, stressed that due process must be observed and that the courts should be allowed to perform their constitutional duties independently.
The case has become another major front in the increasingly bitter political conflict between the Marcos and Duterte families.
Marcos and Duterte ran together in the 2022 presidential elections under the UniTeam alliance, winning by a wide margin. Their relationship later deteriorated, with Duterte resigning from Marcos’ Cabinet in 2024 amid growing political disagreements.
The dispute escalated further after Duterte’s November 2024 remarks. The Department of Justice eventually filed three grave-threat charges, while the allegations involving the threats also became part of the impeachment case against the vice president.
Duterte was impeached by the House of Representatives in May 2026 and is facing trial before the Senate. The impeachment proceedings include allegations involving misuse of public funds and other misconduct, which she and her allies have rejected. A conviction could remove her from office and affect her reported plans to seek the presidency in 2028.
The political rupture has also extended beyond domestic issues. Marcos has moved to strengthen the Philippines’ security relationship with the United States and has taken a more assertive position on China’s activities in the South China Sea, while the Duterte camp has maintained a different political and foreign-policy orientation.
The vice president’s legal troubles have also unfolded alongside the case against her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, who is being held in The Hague by the International Criminal Court over alleged crimes against humanity related to his administration’s anti-drug campaign.
For now, Sara Duterte remains free on bail as the grave-threats case proceeds in court. The case, together with her impeachment trial, places the vice president at the center of one of the country’s most consequential political and legal battles ahead of the 2028 elections.
DC Alviar
Professor DC Alviar is a tenured associate professor at National University (NU) Manila and a steering committee member of the Philippine International Studies Organization (PHISO). He has contributed to NU's community extension initiatives that introduced the five disciplines of a learning organization (Senge, 1990) to communities within a local government unit. He writes and edits local reports for Mega Scene. He graduated with Master of Development Communication (MDC) and Doctor of Communication (DComm) degrees from the University of the Philippines (UP) Open University in Los Baños and was awarded with a Commission on Higher Education (CHED) SIKAP grant. He previously served as editor-in-chief of The Adamson News and his high school publication Ang Ugat.
- DC Alviar
- DC Alviar
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