QC court postpones Sara Duterte's arraignment on grave threats

The Quezon City Regional Trial Court 98 on Friday postponed the arraignment of Vice President Sara Duterte on grave threat charges due to a motion filed by her camp.

Atty. Paul Lawrence Lim, Duterte's lawyer, said they asked for the deferment of the arraignment and the court agreed. He declined to disclose the nature of the motion due to its sensitivity and respect for the court.

"Hindi muna matutuloy yung arraignment, so suspended muna. So yun lang po ang masasabi ko," he told reporters in an ambush interview.

"Hindi ko masasabi po 'yung nature ng motion. Pero kabilang na doon sa mga hinihingi namin 'yung ipagpaliban muna or i-defer 'yung kanyang arraignment habang pinag-aaralan ng huwes 'yung motion. So pinagbigyan naman niya 'yung pag-defer," he added.

Duterte's camp on August 21 filed a motion for certiorari and prohibition against the informations filed before the Quezon City court, asking for an injunction on the cases and that they be rendered void.

On September 4, they filed a motion asking the Supreme Court to order the recall of the warrants.

On Thursday, they also filed with the SC an urgent motion to resolve her application for a temporary restraining order in the grave threats case filed against her.

In a separate ambush interview, Duterte said her lawyers are pursuing all legal remedies available.

“Lahat ng legal remedies na allowed by law ay ina-avail ng ating mga abogado. Sumusunod lang ako sa kanilang legal advice,” Duterte said.

(All legal remedies allowed by law are being availed by our lawyers. I follow their legal advice.)

Asked about her condition, Duterte said “I am okay. Wala namang problema sa akin. As long as protektado yung aking ina at mga anak, okay lang ako (I am okay. I have no problem. As long as my mother and kids are protected, I am fine.)”

The Vice President said that since 2023, she had felt threatened, harassed, and unsafe.

“Matagal na, kung nakita ninyo, nag-release kami ng statement, February 7, 2024 pa lang. Nagsabi na ako sa chief of staff na alam namin kung ano yung mga plano,” Duterte said.

“Since 2023, I feel threatened, I feel harassed, I do not feel safe, pero may trabaho ako na kailangan na gawin, at may obligasyon ako sa lahat ng tao. Kaya kailangan ko gawin,” she added.

(It's been so long. I've released a statement on February 7, 2024 ... I've told the chief of staff that we know their plans. Since 2023, I feel threatened, harassed. I don't feel safe but I have work to do and I have an obligation to the people.)

Duterte added that her camp had documented incidents that she claimed posed threats to her.

“Marami kaming documented na mga bagay na ginagawa sa atin na nagthre-threaten sa akin (I have documented the threats against me),” she said.

When sought for comment, the Department of Justice said it respected the court’s decision to defer the arraignment.

“We will allow the judicial process to take its course. At this point, the prosecution will reserve further comment until the motion has been resolved,” it said.

The Justice Department also declined to discuss the contents of Duterte’s motion.

The Vice President was accompanied by her brother Rep. Paolo Duterte when she arrived at the QC Hall of Justice at 8:30 a.m. They briefly greeted their supporters before heading to the court.

Duterte left the QC Hall of Justice at 9:00 a.m.

The Department of Justice on August 11 filed three counts of grave threat charges against Duterte in connection with remarks she made in an online press conference in 2024.

During the press conference, Duterte said she had already talked to someone to kill President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and then House Speaker Martin Romualdez if anything happened to her. —AOL/RSJ, GMA News