PHILIPPINE VICE-PRESIDENT Sara Duterte-Carpio is facing a warrant of arrest after a Quezon City court issued the order on Friday, rejecting her bid to block it in a criminal case accusing her of threatening to kill President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.
Branch 98 of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court denied Ms. Duterte’s “Motion to Defer the Issuance of or Recall Arrest Warrant and Quash the Information,” finding probable cause to put her on trial on three counts of alleged grave threats, Department of Justice spokesperson (DoJ) Raphael Niccolo L. Martinez said in a statement.
“The Department of Justice notes the Resolution issued today, 04 September 2026, by Branch 98 of RTC of Quezon City denying the Motion by the accused Vice President Sara Z. Duterte to defer or recall the warrant of arrest against her in the criminal case for Grave Threats,” Mr. Martinez said.
“The Department respects the Court’s ruling and reaffirms its commitment to the rule of law,” he added, noting the motion was denied “for lack of merit.”
The case will now proceed to trial, he said. Bail was set at P120,000 for each of the three counts.
The charges stem from remarks Ms. Duterte allegedly made during an online press conference in November 2024, in which she said she had instructed someone to kill Mr. Marcos, First Lady Louise “Liza” Araneta-Marcos and then-House Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez if she herself were killed.
The DoJ filed the grave threats case against Ms. Duterte before the Quezon City court in August, after prosecutors said they found sufficient evidence to indict her.
Ms. Duterte has since denied the allegations.
Her legal team sought to have the case quashed, arguing that as an impeachable official she could not be criminally charged while in office, and asked the court to withhold any arrest warrant pending resolution of that motion.
Paul Lawrence Lim, Ms. Duterte’s lawyer, confirmed the warrant in a statement issued through his firm, on Friday.
“Today, the Quezon City RTC has issued a warrant of arrest against the Vice President,” Mr. Lim said. “Regardless of the question on jurisdiction, she has no intention of evading the law and will continue to exercise all her legal remedies.”
Grave threats is a bailable offense under Philippine law.
Malacanang, the presidential palace, said it would defer to the judiciary.
“The Palace respects any decision or order of the court,” Palace Press Officer Clarissa A. Castro told reporters in a Viber group chat.
Ms. Duterte, daughter of former President Rodrigo R. Duterte, has denounced the case as politically motivated amid an escalating rift with Mr. Marcos, once her ally on a joint ticket in the 2022 election. — Erika Mae P. Sinaking