Davao City 2nd District Representative Omar Duterte has condemned the arrest warrant issued against Vice President Sara Duterte, calling it “a clear act of political harassment” and urging Filipinos to scrutinize the actions of the Marcos administration.
In an official statement, the lawmaker — a grandson of former President Rodrigo Duterte and nephew of the Vice President — said his “heart breaks” over the development, arguing that state power was being used to “break down and silence people instead of helping them.” He drew a parallel to the legal troubles faced by his grandfather, saying the same methods were now being turned on the Vice President. “This is no longer just about Vice President Sara Duterte,” he said. “This is about our dignity as a nation and the safety of every single family in our country.”
The Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 98 issued the warrant on September 4, 2026, over three counts of grave threats. Judge Maria Angelica De Ramos signed the warrant, with bail set at P120,000 for each count. The Department of Justice said the order followed the court’s denial of Duterte’s motion to defer or recall the warrant, after the court found probable cause to hold her for trial on all three counts.
The case stems from an online press briefing in November 2024, in which the Vice President said she had arranged for someone to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez should she herself be killed. The alleged threat also forms a key element of her ongoing Senate impeachment trial, where a guilty verdict would remove her from office and permanently bar her from politics.
Through counsel Paul Lawrence Lim, the Vice President said she would not evade the law. “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. Malacañang, for its part, said it “respects the decision of the court.”
