A Philippine trial court on Friday issued an arrest warrant for Vice President Sara Duterte, in connection with charges against her for threatening the life of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and others.
Duterte faces three counts of issuing “grave threats” against the president, his wife Liza Araneta-Marcos, and his cousin Martin Romualdez, who was speaker of the Philippine House at the time she made the threats in November 2024.
Vice-President Duterte, the daughter of former president Rodrigo Duterte, came into office in June 2022 as the running mate of another political scion, the son of former president Ferdinand Marcos. They took their oaths of office together as political allies whose landslide election victories would help to heal deep political divisions in the country.
Their political narrative was also one of redemption for controversial parents, as the elder Ferdinand Marcos was a notorious dictator, while Rodrigo Duterte faces allegations of crimes against humanity for his brutal war on drugs.
The Marcos-Duterte alliance broke down rather quickly amid bitter disagreements over major issues, including relations with China and the United States. President Marcos is pro-American, while Duterte leans strongly toward China. They also disagreed over constitutional reforms, peace talks with communist rebels, and independence for the island of Mindanao, the home turf of the Duterte dynasty.
Hellbound and Down 