The Quezon City Regional Trial Court has issued a warrant of arrest against Vice President Sara Duterte over three counts of grave threats, a warrant her camp says it will answer by posting bail rather than evading.
QC court orders Sara Duterte’s arrest
Branch 98 of the QC RTC issued the warrant on Friday (Sept. 4), her lawyer Paul Lawrence Lim said in a statement. “Regardless of the question on jurisdiction, she has no intention of evading the law and will continue to exercise all her legal remedies,” Lim said. The court set bail at P120,000 for each of the three counts.
In its Sept. 4 resolution, the court found probable cause to hold Duterte for trial on all three counts and denied her motion to defer or recall the warrant, the Department of Justice said. The DOJ confirmed the issuance and said the case charges Duterte under Article 282 of the Revised Penal Code in relation to the Cybercrime Prevention Act.
Why the case was filed
The case was built by the National Bureau of Investigation and stems from remarks Duterte made during an online press briefing on Nov. 23, 2024, when she said she had spoken to someone who would have President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., first lady Liza Araneta Marcos and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez killed if she were killed. Duterte has said the remark was “maliciously taken out of logical context.” Her camp had earlier sought to quash the complaints on jurisdiction, arguing that impeachable officials hold limited procedural immunity while in office under the 1987 Constitution.
Key facts at a glance
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Court | Branch 98, Quezon City Regional Trial Court |
| Case | Grave threats, three counts (NBI case filed by the DOJ) |
| Bail | P120,000 per count |
| Warrant date | Sept. 4, 2026 |
| Origin of the case | Nov. 23, 2024 online press briefing remarks |
What happens next
Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said Duterte’s lawyers have received the warrant and intend to post bail as soon as possible. The criminal case is separate from the Senate impeachment trial Duterte is also facing; her legal team has argued she should not be prosecuted for an offense that is also the subject of an impeachment proceeding. As the warrant is not a conviction, Duterte keeps the presumption of innocence while she pursues her legal remedies, and the 16-vote threshold question remains part of the separate impeachment debate.
