Vice President Sara Duterte’s lawyers on Friday intensified their challenge to the grave threats case against her by asking the Quezon City Regional Trial Court to hold oral arguments on their pending motion to quash.
Her legal team had earlier questioned the court’s authority to hear the case, citing lack of jurisdiction as its main ground for seeking the dismissal of the charges.
The Department of Justice had brought three counts of grave threats against Duterte, with bail recommended at Php 120,000. The complaint invoked Article 282 of the Revised Penal Code in relation to the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.
The charges traced back to Duterte’s remarks during an online press briefing in November 2024, which later became the subject of an investigation by the National Bureau of Investigation.
In that briefing, Duterte discussed having arranged for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., first lady Liza Marcos and former Speaker Martin Romualdez to be killed if an alleged assassination attempt against her succeeded.
Lawyer Paul Lawrence Lim said the defense wanted the court to hear oral arguments because the case could carry wider legal implications beyond the vice president’s situation.
Lim argued that prosecuting an incumbent vice president could also shape how criminal cases are pursued against other officials who may be removed through impeachment.
He cited the President, Supreme Court justices, members of constitutional commissions and the Ombudsman among the officials who could face similar questions if the court allows the case to proceed.