Philippine V-P Sara Duterte posts bail over ‘grave threats’ against Marcos

MANILA – Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte posted bail at a Manila courthouse on Sept 5, a day after an arrest warrant was issued over her alleged death threat against the country’s president.

Duterte was charged in August with “grave threats” stemming from a late-night news briefing in which she claimed to have hired a hitman to kill President Ferdinand Marcos, his wife and a congressman cousin should she be cut down first.

She later said the comments had been misconstrued.

The alleged assassination threat also forms a crucial element of her ongoing Senate impeachment trial, where a guilty verdict would see her removed from office and permanently banned from politics.

“The Vice-President voluntarily appeared before the court that issued the warrant, so there was no need for her to be arrested,” her lawyer Lawrence Lim said.

He delivered the comments after Duterte emerged from the courthouse holding a court order confirming she had posted a cash bond totalling 360,000 pesos (S$7,300).

She also underwent a standard booking procedure in which her fingerprints were recorded, though no mugshots of her were taken, Lim added.

Duterte said in a statement that her lawyers advised her to post bail for her safety.

“They explained to me that I would have better protection from civilians who would be able to monitor my situation, rather than being in detention where I would be isolated and have little protection,” she said.

Prior to entering, Duterte had told reporters she feared for her life. “I don’t want to (post bail) if no one is watching,” she said, claiming to be the victim of police harassment.

“Will they throw me into the (jail) and then one night I die in my sleep?” she said.

The Philippine presidential palace rejected Duterte’s comments as “unfounded”, saying the police were merely implementing their mandate to protect Filipinos.

“This administration will never allow the police to be used to commit any form of violence,” it said.

Under the Philippine legal code, a criminal conviction on the “grave threats” charge would carry a jail term of up to six months.

The Vice-President’s legal team issued a statement on Sept 4 saying she had “no intention of evading the law and will continue to exercise all her legal remedies”.

Justice department officials have rejected her lawyers’ argument that she cannot be prosecuted for offences that are also tied to her impeachment.

Duterte was impeached in May by the House of Representatives, the Lower Chamber of Parliament, on charges that also included graft and corruption.

A guilty verdict in the Senate – where her trial recently concluded its ninth week – would spell an end to a planned run for president in 2028.

Duterte first announced her candidacy in February. AFP