DOJ files three counts of grave threats vs. VP Sara Duterte

The Department of Justice (DOJ) filed three counts of grave threats against Vice President Sara Duterte in the Quezon City Regional Trial Court on Tuesday (August 11, 2026), according to her legal counsel.

In a statement, Atty. Paul Lawrence Lim confirmed the filings but noted that the DOJ dismissed a separate complaint for inciting to sedition previously submitted by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

"We confirm that today, the DOJ filed three counts of grave threats cases against the Vice President with the Regional Trial Court of Quezon City," Lim said.

Lim stated that Duterte and her legal team anticipated the filings and are fully prepared to contest the charges in court.

"Under our laws, the Vice President continues to be presumed innocent and is confident that the charges against her will ultimately be dismissed," Lim added.

Her counsel also raised a constitutional challenge, arguing that a sitting impeachable officer cannot face prosecution for offenses that overlap with an ongoing impeachment case.

"Equally important, as a sitting impeachable officer, the Vice President may not be prosecuted for an alleged offense that is also the subject of an impeachment case," Lim noted, adding that the legal team intends to pursue all available legal remedies to challenge the proceedings.

The DOJ charges stem from remarks Duterte made in November 2024, when she publicly claimed she had instructed an assassin to target President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and House Speaker Martin Romualdez in the event that she herself was killed. - Paraluman News