MANILA — A Quezon City court has issued an arrest warrant against Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio over a grave threats case stemming from her controversial remarks about having President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and then-House Speaker Martin Romualdez killed if she were assassinated.
Duterte-Carpio’s lawyer, Paul Lawrence Lim, confirmed the issuance of the warrant on Friday, saying the Vice President has no intention of evading authorities even as her camp continues to challenge the criminal case.
“Regardless of the question on jurisdiction, she has no intention of evading the law and will continue to exercise all her legal remedies,” Lim said in a statement.
The arrest warrant marks a significant escalation in the criminal case against Duterte-Carpio, who is simultaneously defending herself in separate impeachment proceedings before the Senate.
The grave threats case arose from remarks Duterte-Carpio made during an online briefing in which she said she had arranged for Marcos, the First Lady and Romualdez to be killed should she herself be assassinated.
Duterte-Carpio later maintained that her remarks had been taken out of context.
Her lawyers had sought the dismissal of the grave threats complaints, arguing that the court has no jurisdiction over Duterte-Carpio because she is an impeachable official.
“Ang sa ‘ming pananaw kasi ‘yung ating Bise Presidente ay isang impeachable officer. Sa Constitution kasi may tinatawag na opisyal na pwede lamang matanggal sa kanilang posisyon sa pamamagitan ng impeachment,” Lim earlier said.
“At dahil sila ay impeachable officer, hindi dapat sila kinakakasuhan ng kasong kriminal katulad ng sinampa sa ating Bise Presidente,” he added.
The defense maintains that because Duterte-Carpio is an impeachable official, proceedings against her should be pursued through the constitutional impeachment process rather than through an ordinary criminal case.
The alleged threat against Marcos, Araneta-Marcos and Romualdez is also among the accusations raised in the impeachment proceedings against the Vice President now being heard by the Senate.
Authorities have previously described the alleged threat as a serious matter, while Duterte-Carpio’s camp has consistently questioned the jurisdiction of the court over the criminal complaints.
Despite the issuance of the arrest warrant, Lim said Duterte-Carpio would submit to the legal process while continuing to exhaust the remedies available to her under the law./PN
