Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte posted bail at the Quezon City Regional Trial Court in Metro Manila on Saturday, September 5, after a judge issued an arrest warrant against her a day earlier on three counts of grave threats. The Associated Press reported that court staff took her fingerprints and that the warrant was lifted after she paid a total of 360,000 pesos, about 5,740 dollars. Duterte denies the allegations and remains free while the criminal case proceeds.
The charges arise from comments Duterte made during an online news conference in 2024 as her alliance with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was collapsing. Prosecutors allege that she described arranging for an assassin to kill Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos and then House Speaker Martin Romualdez if she herself were killed. Duterte later maintained that she had expressed concern about her own safety rather than issued a threat against the president.
Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 98 set bail at 120,000 pesos for each count. The Philippine News Agency and Philstar, citing the Department of Justice, reported that the court found probable cause to put Duterte on trial and rejected her request to defer or recall the warrant and quash the criminal information. Her lawyer Paul Lawrence Lim said she would use the legal remedies available to her and had no intention of avoiding the law.
Duterte told reporters outside the courthouse that she felt unsafe and accused police of harassing her and people at her home, an allegation not independently established in the reports. She displayed the court order lifting the warrant and asked journalists to accompany her toward her vehicle. The presidential palace said on Friday that it respected the court's decision, while the Justice Department said it remained committed to the rule of law.
The criminal proceedings deepen a political confrontation between two families that joined forces to win the 2022 election. Marcos and Duterte ran together but later became rivals. The House of Representatives, dominated by Marcos allies, impeached Duterte in May over allegations including misuse of confidential funds, unexplained wealth and the same threats. The Senate opened her televised impeachment trial in July, creating a separate process from the criminal case.
The stakes extend to the 2028 presidential election, when Marcos must leave office after his six-year term. The Associated Press reported that a conviction could permanently disqualify Duterte from public office and prevent a presidential campaign, although the court has not ruled on her guilt. Posting bail resolves her immediate exposure to detention under this warrant; her defense against the three charges and the parallel impeachment proceedings remain active and will determine her political future.
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