VICE President Sara Duterte posted bail at a Quezon City courthouse on Saturday, a day after an arrest warrant was issued over her alleged death threat against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and former speaker Martin Romualdez.
Duterte was charged last month with "grave threats" stemming from a late-night news briefing in which she claimed to have hired a hitman to kill Marcos, his wife and the president’s congressman cousin should she be cut down first.
She later said the comments had been misconstrued.
Penalties for grave threats
If Duterte is convicted, she faces imprisonment for one month and a day on the low end and 20 years on the high end.
Under the Revised Penal Code, punishment for a criminal conviction for "grave threats" depends on whether the threat was made subject to a condition, whether that condition was met, or whether no condition accompanied the threat.
For conditional grave threats where the offender makes a threat accompanied by a demand, punishment is imprisonment one degree lower than the penalty prescribed by law for the crime threatened.
For example, if someone threatens to commit murder (punishable by reclusión perpetua to death) unless money is paid, and the money is paid, the penalty drops to reclusión temporal (12 years and one day to 20 years).
If the offender did not attain his or her purpose, the penalty drops to imprisonment two degrees lower than the penalty prescribed for the crime threatened.
For the same threat to kill where no money is obtained, the penalty drops to prisión mayor (6 years and 1 day to 12 years).
When a crime is threatened outright without demanding anything in return (unconditional grave threats), the penalty is arresto mayor (imprisonment from 1 month and 1 day to 6 months) and a fine not exceeding P100,000.
The alleged assassination threat also forms a crucial element of her ongoing Senate impeachment trial, where a guilty verdict would see her removed from office and permanently banned from politics.
Why no mugshots?
"The vice president voluntarily appeared before the court that issued the warrant, so there was no need for her to be arrested," her lawyer Pau Lawrence Lim said.
He was speaking after Duterte emerged from the courthouse holding a court order confirming she had posted a cash bond totaling P360,000.
Lim said the vice president also underwent a standard booking procedure in which her fingerprints were recorded, though no mugshots were taken because she presented herself to the court that issued the warrant and wasn’t detained.
He said in lieu of mugshots during her booking, the vice president submitted photos supplied by the Office of the Vice President for her bail document.
But House prosecutor in the impeachment trial Terry Ridon disputed her lawyer’s explanation.
“The Philippine National Police waived its ordinary booking procedures in the case of Vice President Sara Duterte. It is clearly a case of special treatment that does not speak well of the rule of law and the equality of persons before the law,” Ridon told The Manila Times on Saturday.
Ridon cited the case of Sen. Rodante Marcoleta, who he said was subjected to the standard criminal booking process even after surrendering directly to the Sandiganbayan.
“Sen. Rodante Marcoleta, even if he surrendered directly to the Sandiganbayan, was still subjected to the mandatory and standard criminal booking process, including the taking of a booking photograph or a mugshot,” Ridon said.
Ridon said the same rules should apply regardless of a person’s position or status.
“The law must treat all accused persons equally: an ordinary person, a senator or a vice president. No special treatment,” he said.
Safety concerns
Duterte said in a statement that her lawyers advised her to post bail for her safety.
"They explained to me that I would have better protection from civilians who would be able to monitor my situation, rather than being in detention where I would be isolated and have little protection," she said.
Before entering the courthouse, which was under heightened police security, Duterte told reporters she feared for her life.
"I don't want to (post bail) if no one is watching," she said, claiming to be the victim of police harassment.
"Will they throw me into the (jail) and then one night I die in my sleep?" she said.
She said she feared for her children and did not feel they were safe if she was with them.
“I do not feel safe. I feel like they will kill me,” Duterte said.
She said she had documented threats and harassment against her since 2023.
Malacañang defended the police presence at the Quezon City regional trial court.
In a statement on Saturday, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said the PNP was only upholding its mandate.
The Palace official also reminded the public that concerns or complaints regarding police actions should be raised through proper channels rather than through “baseless allegations.”
She did not address allegations of special treatment.
Ridon, meanwhile, told Duterte to “stop the drama” and face the grave threats cases filed against her after she questioned the police presence at the Quezon City regional trial court on Saturday.
“Enough with the drama. There would be no grave threats case now if not for the statements that became the basis of the case filed against you,” Ridon said.
Varied reactions
Davao City 2nd District Rep. Omar Duterte, the vice president’s nephew, described the arrest warrant as a “clear act of political harassment” and accused the government of using its power to silence people.
But the August Twenty One Movement (ATOM) on Saturday welcomed the Quezon City Regional Trial Court’s issuance of a warrant of arrest against Duterte as a step in the right direction.
In a statement, the group, known for its involvement in the EDSA People Power Revolution in 1986, as well as protests supporting the vice president’s impeachment, said the court’s order came as a surprise but deserves commendation.
The group called on the Senate, serving as an impeachment court, to issue a quick resolution to the trial.
“The impeachment trial should continue to its conclusion. And a quick resolution to this trial should be the immediate objective for the Senate. Enough with the delaying tactics and the action-star antics in the Senate. The people are getting impatient, too. Especially for a country known for its slow wheels of justice all the time, we, the people, deserve justice to be served as quickly as possible. Based on what was revealed in the Senate trial so far, there is strong evidence already that the vice president has violated some of this country’s important laws,” the opposition movement said.
“We know it’s exhausting. As one senator who complained about being tired from serving in the Senate said, their long working hours these days are understandable because of the impeachment trial. But if you are getting tired, imagine the Filipino people who have to go through the annual challenges of floods, the continued decline in our economy, and the constant rise in the cost of necessities.... We hope the senators also realize that life is becoming increasingly difficult for Filipinos today. Do they even know that?” it added.
The group called for further accountability, such as holding Romualdez accountable for the flood control mess, following the arrest order against Duterte.
“The impeachment and arrest of the vice president is just the first step to achieve real accountability. This should happen. The government owes this to the people. We don’t owe the government anything,” ATOM said.
Meanwhile, the Liberal Party (LP) of the Philippines said the vice president is fortunate because she is afforded due process.
In a statement on Saturday, the party said that this is far more than what was afforded the thousands of Filipinos killed under the war on drugs during the administration of her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte.
“There is a warrant of arrest. The case went through the courts. The evidence was examined, the court found probable cause, and she was given the opportunity to face the charges and use all the legal remedies available to her. This is not yet a judgment of guilt — it is still part of the trial process.... This is a far cry from what happened to the thousands of Filipinos who were killed under her father’s war on drugs,” the party said.
“If due process matters to everyone, then it should matter to every Filipino,” they added.
Probable cause, not guilt
Former Senate president Franklin Drilon said Saturday that the arrest warrant issued against Duterte in connection should not be interpreted as a finding of guilt, but as a judicial determination that there was probable cause to justify her arrest.
In an interview over radio DWIZ, Drilon said that the issuance of a warrant is part of the judicial process and does not amount to a conviction. The criminal case must still proceed, with the prosecution required to prove Duterte’s guilt in court.
Drilon said the judge, after reviewing the evidence, made a preliminary determination that there was sufficient basis to issue the warrant under the Rules of Court.
He rejected suggestions that the warrant’s issuance necessarily constituted an abuse of authority, saying it reflected the court’s determination of probable cause.
Drilon said the impeachment trial would likely be completed before the criminal case, which could take considerably longer to resolve.
He said the two proceedings would not constitute double jeopardy because they are separate processes with different purposes and consequences.
A criminal case for grave threat may carry imprisonment as a penalty, while an impeachment conviction may result in removal from office and perpetual disqualification from holding public office.
Drilon also rejected the argument that threatening another person is protected by freedom of expression, saying constitutional free-speech protections have limits.
“You can't, because you think there's a threat to you; say I'm going to kill you,” he said, adding that anyone who believes they have been threatened should seek legal remedies.
“Two wrongs don't make a right,” he said. WITH AFP
