Eight witnesses will anchor the House prosecution’s bid to prove that Vice President Sara Duterte issued grave threats against President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., among them a court sheriff she physically assaulted more than a decade ago, according to a pretrial brief distributed to journalists on Thursday.
The 57-page document identifies Abe Andres, the sheriff who was carrying out a court order in 2011 to dismantle informal settlements on a disputed lot in Barangay Soliman, within the Agdao district of Davao City. Duterte, then the city’s mayor, struck him repeatedly during the operation. Andres absorbed four blows to his face and back and required hospital treatment afterward.
Prosecutors argue that his account demonstrates the vice president “has the tendency to inflict violence.” The same brief enumerates law enforcement personnel and members of the press who witnessed a profanity-filled livestreamed briefing she delivered in November 2024, footage the panel relies on to argue she schemed to have the president, the first lady and a onetime House speaker killed.
Now 48, Duterte confronts multiple allegations, including that she arranged for the assassination of Marcos and his relatives and stirred up sedition against the state. The prosecution intends to lead with the assassination claim, reasoning that doing so will convey to observers the gravity of the conduct underpinning the case against her as she pursues a presidential run while facing corruption and constitutional violation charges.
Alongside Andres, the panel listed House Legislative Security Bureau Executive Director Belinda Bello, NBI agents Jeremy Lotoc and John Mark Calilung, NBI Director Melvin Matibag, a representative from the Philippine National Police Firearms and Explosives Office, Reuters reporter Mikhail Flores, and former Rappler reporter Bonz Magsambol. Held in reserve are a relative of someone targeted by the alleged threats and a psychiatrist.
Marcos and Duterte, both heirs to powerful political dynasties, swept into office together on a single ticket in 2022 before disagreements over policy splintered their partnership and widened the rifts in an already divided country.
