Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte threatens to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., his wife, and the House of Representatives speaker if she herself gets murdered.
According to Associated Press, Sara on Saturday, November 23, 2024, publicly warned that she has contracted as an assassin to kill three (the president, his wife, and the speaker) if she gets killed.
In a pre-dawn online news conference, the 46-year-old lawyer was asked about concerns over her security. She said, “Don’t worry about my security because I’ve talked with somebody. I said, ‘If I’m killed, you’ll kill BBM, Liza Araneta, and Martin Romualdez. No joke, no joke.’”
Sara has differences with the president on multiple issues, including their approach to China's aggressive actions in the disputed South China Sea. She has also accused the president, his wife, and the speaker of corrupt and politically persecuting the Duterte family and close supporters.
Moreover, in response to the VP threat, the government stated, “Acting on the vice president’s clear and unequivocal statement that she had contracted an assassin to kill the president if an alleged plot against her succeeds, the Executive Secretary has referred this active threat to the Presidential Security Command for immediate proper action.”
“Any threat to the life of the president must always be taken seriously, more so that this threat has been publicly revealed in clear and certain terms,” it further added.
Furthermore, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin has also called “for immediate proper action” against the active threats of the vice president.
To note, as per the Philippine penal code, such public threats are considered a crime and are punishable by a fine and a jail term.
