Court postpones arraignment of VP Duterte on charges of threatening President Marcos

MANILA - Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte's legal team on Friday secured a postponement of her arraignment on charges of making grave threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, the first lady and the House Speaker, in a new legal battle that could derail her bid for the presidency in 2028.

Lawyer Paul Lim told a crowd of reporters and Duterte's supporters outside the court that the defence had filed a motion to postpone the arraignment, which the court granted.

In a text message to Reuters, Lim said Duterte had not entered a plea in the case. "Arraignment deferred pending resolution of our motion," he said.

Last Saturday, Duterte had posted bail after a court had ordered her arrest over the charges.

The case against Duterte, an ally and running mate of Marcos before the two had a bitter fallout, stems from her remarks at an online press conference in 2024, when she said she had told an assassin to kill the president, his wife, and his cousin, former speaker Martin Romualdez, in the event she herself were killed.

Duterte, the 48-year-old daughter of mercurial former President Rodrigo Duterte, has denied making the threats and said her remarks were taken out of context. She faces up to six months in prison if convicted.

The allegations of grave threats are also part of an impeachment complaint against Duterte, who is currently on trial at the Senate, which is sitting as an impeachment court with its members as jurors.

-Reporting by Mikhail Flores; Editing by John Mair and Martin Petty/Reuters