QC court postpones anew VP Duterte’s grave threats arraignment

The Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 98 has postponed the arraignment of Vice President Sara Duterte on three counts of grave threats for a second time on Friday (October 9, 2026), pending the review of key legal challenges filed by her defense team.

"Minabuti nga ng judge na huwag munang ituloy ang arraignment today," Duterte's lead counsel, Atty. Paul Lawrence Lim, said in an interview.

Lim explained that the presiding judge opted to defer the proceedings to resolve a motion for partial reconsideration ad cautelam before the RTC and a separate petition for certiorari filed with the Supreme Court.

The motion asks the trial court to reverse a portion of its earlier order that denied the defense's request for the judge to recuse themselves from the case, Lim added. During the previous hearing, the court had denied the motion for inhibition but granted the defense's request to delay the arraignment.

Duterte’s camp has also petitioned the Supreme Court to issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) to halt proceedings.

The arraignment was originally scheduled for September 11. Lim declined to disclose the rescheduled date, stating that the schedule should officially come from the court or the prosecution.

The Department of Justice filed the three counts of grave threats against Duterte on August 11, stemming from comments made during an online press conference in 2024. In that conference, Duterte stated that she had instructed someone to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and then-House Speaker Martin Romualdez if she herself were killed.

Following the charges, the Quezon City RTC Branch 98 issued a warrant for Duterte's arrest on September 4. She posted bail the following day. -Paraluman News