Authorities deliberately kept Vice President Sara Duterte out of a detention cell when her arrest warrant was served, saying her camp had angled for the spectacle of a jailed sitting official, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said Monday.
Speaking at a press conference on September 7, Remulla characterized the initial plan floated by Duterte’s side as theatrical rather than legal. “Gusto niya kasi kulong kaagad eh. Gusto niya the high drama na ikukulong siya rito. Gusto niya ipakita na nakaposas siya. Sabi namin, ‘Vice President ka eh,'” he said.
His office refused to allow that scenario to play out, the secretary said, insisting officers stuck to standard procedure instead of what he described as a shortcut. He said the government extended deference because of the office she holds. “Vice President siya eh. [She is the] second highest elected officer in the country… And it was a bailable crime, so we accorded her all the respect and courtesy,” Remulla said.
Officers were also on guard against the possibility of a physical confrontation during the service, he added, pointing to a past episode. “We were more worried baka manuntok siya ng nagseserve ng warrant, kasi nangyari na dati ‘yun sa Davao,” he said.
Duterte’s team initially signaled she was willing to be detained but later changed course, opting to proceed directly to the Quezon City Hall of Justice to post bail, according to Remulla’s account. She would go on to secure her release after Branch 98 of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court set bail at P120,000 for each of the three counts, per court records reported by Philstar.
The warrant that triggered the standoff was signed on September 4 by Judge Maria Angelica de Ramos of Branch 98, covering three counts of grave threats. The same resolution rejected Duterte’s motion to defer or recall the warrant and found probable cause to try her, according to the Department of Justice.
The charges trace back to a November 2024 online briefing in which Duterte spoke of having arranged for someone to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos, and then-House Speaker Martin Romualdez should she herself be killed — remarks she has denied were threats, as reported by Reuters. Her lawyer, Paul Lawrence Lim, has argued the case should be dismissed on the grounds that an impeachable official cannot face criminal prosecution before the end of her term.
