THE Regional Trial Court of Quezon on Friday issued an arrest warrant against Vice President Sara Duterte in connection with the three counts of grave threats charges filed against her by the Department of Justice (DOJ).
DOJ spokesman Polo Martinez told reporters that the arrest order was issued after the QC RTC Branch 98 denied Duterte’s motion to defer or recall the warrant of arrest against her in the criminal case.
‘In the same Resolution, the Court found probable cause to hold the accused for trial on all three counts of Grave Threats and ordered the issuance of a warrant of arrest,’ Martinez said.
With the denial of Duterte’s motion, Martinez said the case will now proceed to trial.
Meanwhile, Duterte’s lawyer Paul Lawrence Lim gave assurances that the Vice President would face the case while availing herself of other legal remedies against the trial court’s order.
‘Today, the Quezon City RTC has issued a warrant of arrest against the Vice President. 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.
Last August 25, the trial court held an oral argument on Duterte’ motion to quash information and recall or defer issuance of arrest warrant upon her camp’s request.
She argued that an oral argument was necessary, considering that the issues presented before the court will have ‘serious, far-reaching and dangerous consequences in our country’s legal system and the stability of the Philippine government considering that it involves the criminal prosecution of a sitting Vice President – an impeachable officer under Section 3, Article VII and Section 2, Article IX of the 1987 Constitution.’
She also warned that if a sitting Vice President is indicted and prosecuted, this could open the floodgates for the criminal prosecution of other impeachable officers such as the Ombudsman, members of the Constitutional Commissions, Supreme Court Justices.
The case stemmed from Duterte’s statement made during an online press briefing in November 2024 claiming that she had hired someone to assassinate President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr., First Liza Araneta-Marcos and House Speaker Martin Romualdez if a purported plot against her life succeeds.
When asked about the supposed immunity from suit of the Vice President, Martinez said: ‘The DOJ’s position is that presidential immunity is lodged solely in the President as chief executive, which is why the DOJ filed the case against the accused.’