Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte is facing arrest after a court issued a warrant over remarks involving an alleged hitman supposedly tasked with targeting President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos and then-House Speaker Martin Romualdez.


The Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 98 issued the warrant on September 4, for three counts of grave threats. The court set bail at 120,000 pesos ($2,100) for each count.


The Department of Justice (DOJ) said the court also denied Duterte’s “Motion to Defer the Issuance of or Recall Arrest Warrant and Quash the Information.”


In the same resolution, the court found probable cause to hold Duterte for trial on all three counts and ordered the issuance of the arrest warrant, according to the DOJ.


“The Department respects the Court's ruling and reaffirms its commitment to the rule of law,” the DOJ said.


Duterte confirmed that her office had received the warrant on September 4.


“I confirm that I was given notice of a warrant of arrest dated September 4, 2026 issued by Judge Maria Angelica De Ramos of Branch 98, Quezon City and served by PNP Col Christine Tabdi in the Office of the Vice President. My lawyers Attys Paul Lim and Clifford Chua will attend to this matter immediately,” she said in a statement.


Duterte’s counsel, Paul Lim, said the vice president and her legal team would pursue all available legal remedies.


“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 in a statement.


It was not immediately clear whether Duterte would surrender herself to authorities in response to the warrant.


Prosecutors filed the complaint against Duterte on August 11, amid her ongoing Senate impeachment trial. The case stemmed from findings that the National Bureau of Investigation had forwarded to the Department of Justice in February 2025.


The threats Duterte made during online press conferences in October and December 2024 also formed part of Article IV of the articles of impeachment filed against her.


By Vafa Guliyeva