Sara Duterte expected to attend arraignment in grave threats case

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte is expected to attend her arraignment before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court on Friday, September 11.

Duterte is scheduled to appear at 8 a.m. Friday at the Quezon City Hall of Justice for her arraignment, her spokesperson lawyer Salvador Paolo Panelo Jr. confirmed on Thursday, September 10.

The vice president is facing three counts of grave threats over her remarks against President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.

The charges stemmed from an online press briefing in November 2024, when Duterte said she had hired someone to kill the Marcos couple and Romualdez if she herself were killed.

The Quezon City court issued an arrest warrant against Duterte on September 4 after finding probable cause to hold her for trial. The warrant was served by police at the Office of the Vice President.

Duterte posted bail the following day at Quezon City RTC Branch 98, which was the assigned weekend court.

The court set bail at P120,000 for each count, or P360,000 in total. It later lifted the arrest warrant after Duterte's lawyers submitted the required documents.

During Friday's arraignment, the charges will be formally read to Duterte, after which she will be asked to enter a plea for each of the three counts.

If she pleads not guilty, the case will proceed toward trial and the court may set the next hearings.

Duterte's legal team has questioned the court's jurisdiction over the case. Her lawyers also argued that impeachable officials have limited procedural immunity while in office under the 1987 Constitution.

The court heard oral arguments on Duterte's motion to quash in late August.

The Department of Justice, however, maintained that there is prima facie evidence with reasonable certainty of conviction to support the three charges.

On Monday, Duterte's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to resolve her application for a temporary restraining order in the grave threats case before the Quezon City court.

The case is being heard as Duterte faces an impeachment trial before the Senate. The alleged threats against Marcos also form part of one of the Articles of Impeachment against the vice president. — with a report from Ian Laqui

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