Vice President Sara Duterte (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)
The Department of Justice (DOJ) filed on Tuesday, Aug. 11, a case of grave threats against Vice President Sara Duterte in connection with her statement that she hired a contract killer to do a hit on President Marcos and other personalities.
DOJ spokesman Polo Martinez said the case was filed before the Office of the Clerk of Court of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court at 1:30 p.m.
The DOJ is yet to provide details of the case it filed against Duterte but Martinez confirmed that the charge was in relation to what the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has investigated before.
The case stemmed from the statement made by Duterte that she hired an assassin to take out Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos, and former House speaker Martin Romualdez if something happened to her.
The statement was made during a virtual press conference in November last year and during that time, political tension was high between the Marcos and the Duterte camps.
Following the incident, the NBI conducted the investigation and later forwarded the case to the DOJ for review.
“Yes, we confirm that the Grave Threats case filed today is the same matter referred by the NBI to the DOJ,” said Martinez.
“It is also the same matter raised in the impeachment proceedings,” he added.
The alleged threat of Duterte to Marcos and the First Lady was the first issue tackled in the ongoing impeachment trial against the Vice President.