Philippine VP Duterte posts bail after arrest order for alleged grave threats

Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte posted bail on Saturday after a trial court ordered her arrest on three counts ​of grave threats linked to comments she made about President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, the ‌first lady and a former House speaker, Report informs via Reuters.

The arrest order marks an escalation in Duterte's legal troubles as she also faces an impeachment trial in the Senate, a process that, if it ends in conviction, could remove her from office and ​derail her 2028 presidential bid. Marcos' office did not ​immediately respond to a request ​for comment on Duterte's ⁠remarks about her safety.

The office said on Friday it would respect any decision or order issued by the court.

The court found probable cause to try ​Duterte on all three counts and set bail at 120,000 pesos ($1,900) per ​count.

The case stems ⁠from a November 2024 online press conference in which Duterte said she had spoken with an assassin and instructed him to kill Marcos, his wife Liza Araneta Marcos and his cousin, then-Speaker Martin Romualdez, if she herself ⁠were ​killed. She has denied threatening them.

The alleged threats are also part ​of the impeachment complaint against her.

Duterte also faces accusations of misusing public funds while vice president and during her tenure as ​education secretary, allegations she rejects.

($1 = 62.5960 Philippine pesos)