DOJ files grave threats vs. Sara Duterte

The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Tuesday filed charges for grave threats against Vice President Sara Duterte over her remarks that she hired a person to kill President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and others if she dies.

According to the DOJ, the case for one count of grave threats under Article 282 of the Revised Penal Code, in relation to the Cybercrime Prevention Act, was filed with the Office of the Clerk of Court of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court at 1:30 p.m.

“Our prosecutors found that there was prima facie evidence with reasonable certainty of conviction to indict the Vice President," DOJ spokesman Atty. Polo Martinez said in a mix of English and Filipino.

The bail was set at P120,000.

Martinez said that the complaint for inciting to sedition was dismissed.

“It was dismissed for the sole reason that the panel of prosecutors did not find prima facie evidence with reasonable certainty of conviction,” Martinez said.

To recall, Duterte said that she ordered someone to kill Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos, and former Speaker Martin Romualdez if an alleged plot against her succeeds during an online press briefing in 2024.

Following this, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) recommended the filing of a complaint against Duterte in February 2025.

The complaints were pending for review at the DOJ up until the commencement of the Vice President’s impeachment trial, where NBI Director Melvin Matibag testified that the bureau considered a possible conspiracy involving Duterte and Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste’ Duterte.

In a statement, Duterte's camp confirmed that the DOJ filed three counts of grave threats cases against the Vice President while the inciting to sedition was dismissed.

"Under prevailing circumstances, we have anticipated and prepared for such an outcome. Under our laws, the Vice President continues to be presumed innocent and is confident that the charges against her will ultimately be dismissed," said Atty. Paul Lawrence Lim, Duterte's counsel for the NBI case.

"Equally important, as a sitting impeachable officer, the Vice President may not be prosecuted for an alleged offense that is also the subject of an impeachment case. Given these serious legal issues, the Vice President will exercise all available legal remedies in due course," he added.

The Vice President earlier said her remarks were “maliciously taken out of logical context.”

She also clarified that her “assassination” statement was not a threat, saying she only highlighted the alleged threat to her security.—AOL/NB, GMA News