Jamaine Punzalan

Article (news)

Jervis Manahan

Vivienne Gulla

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17840972635601784097261183.png" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte. PCO/Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News </span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — Vice President Sara Duterte&#x27;s alleged grave threats to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s life are a matter concerning national security, Malacanang said on Monday.</p><p>&quot;Hindi ito simpleng grave threats na maaaring isampa diyan sa korte. Hindi involved dito ang simpleng tao. Ang pinag-uusapan po natin dito ay Pangulo. Ito ay isyu about national security,&quot; Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said. </p><p>Castro challenged the Vice President’s remark on Tuesday that the impeachment complaint was not based on facts and evidence.</p><p>&quot;Ano ang sasabihin na paulit-ulit na walang basehan? Since it was the Vice President who admitted in this video that she had already talked to a person who was willing to kill the President, the First Lady and the House Speaker, ano pa ba ang dapat na patunayan?&quot; Castro said.</p><p>&quot;Ang prosekusyon sa totoo lamang ay hindi na dapat magbigay pa ng additional evidence dahil ang pag-amin na ito ay nanggaling mismo sa Bise Presidente. Dapat sila ang magpatunay ng justifiable reasons nila kung bakit nila ito—or rather bakit nga ito ginawa at sinabi,&quot; she added.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/7/14/duterte-death-threat-alone-justifies-impeachment-hitman-need-not-be-proven-chua-1218">Duterte &#x27;death threat&#x27; alone can justify impeachment, alleged hitman need not be proven–Chua </a></div><p>In a November 2024 online conference, Duterte claimed to be the victim of an assassination plot and said she had ordered that Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez be killed if she were taken out first. </p><p>Duterte’s defense team told the impeachment court on Tuesday that her remarks were “not threats in the first place” and were just a “response to a Q&amp;A.” </p><p>But Castro countered, “Kung ito ay hindi threats, ano pa ba ang maaari nating i-define sa salitang threats? So, ang ganitong klase na pagresponde ay normal at dapat na i-justify at i-tolerate?” </p><p>&quot;Ibig bang sabihin ng kaniyang mga abogado na kahit sino na lamang na Pilipino o kahit sinong tao ay dapat or maaaring magbanta sa buhay ng isang head of state? Hindi normal ang ganitong klaseng depensa,&quot; the Palace official said. </p><p>&quot;Kaya sasabihin nila na isampa na lang ito sa korte – hindi po ito simpleng grave threats. Ang pinag-uusapan natin dito ay buhay ng Pangulo, buhay ng head of state ng Pilipinas; at ang nagbabanta ay hindi rin simpleng tao – Bise Presidente na umamin na siya ay mayroong kakilalang killer,&quot; she added. </p><div><br/></div><div><strong>ALLEGED ASSASSIN  </strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Meanwhile, House impeachment prosecutor Ysabel Zamora said the identification of the assassin allegedly contracted by Duterte was unnecessary to prove the impeachment article accusing her of “grave threats”. </p><p>Among the evidence presented by the prosecution was the video clip from Duterte’s 2024 video conference, where she said, “‘Wag kang mag-alala, ma’am, sa security ko. Kasi, may kinausap na ako na tao. Sinabi ko sa kanya, ‘Kapag pinatay ako, patayin mo si BBM, si Liza Araneta, at si Martin Romualdez.’ No joke. No joke. Nagbilin na ako, Ma’am. ‘‘Pag namatay ako,’ sabi ko, ‘Wag ka tumigil, ha? Hanggang hindi mo mapatay sila.’ And then he said, ‘Yes.’”</p><p>“The mere fact that the respondent Vice President uttered these words, said these words, which was witnessed by a lot of people, maybe almost everyone here, ‘yun po ‘yung mismong pagbabanta. Hindi po kailangan ng assassin mismo na lumutang para sabihin na may pagbabanta,” Zamora said.</p><p>Counsel for prosecutors Benjamin Tolosa Jr. added: “Mayroon bang assassin? Mayroon. Ano’ng ebidensya natin d’yan? Mismong admission against interest ng Bise Presidente.” </p><p>“Nagkaroon siya ng oportunidad, na klaruhin ang sinabi niya, three days after, bawiin ‘yung sinabi, sabihin na dala lang ng bugso ng damdamin. Pero three days after, mas kalmado na siya, so it can&#x27;t be said that it was just a spur-of-the-moment thing. Pero ano’ng ginawa niya? Hindi niya binawi, kinonfirm niya, she doubled down, and tried to justify what she did by saying, revenge from the grave is not a criminal offense,” he said. </p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/7/15/impeachment-day-6-prosecution-defense-to-spar-over-vp-sara-bank-tax-records-0858">Impeachment day 6: Prosecution, defense to spar over VP Sara bank, tax records </a><br/><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/7/15/kapunan-says-zuleika-lopez-listed-as-witness-in-another-impeachment-article-0041">Kapunan says Zuleika Lopez listed as witness in another impeachment article</a><br/><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/7/15/wrap-nbi-exec-weathers-questions-on-credibility-qualifications-0024">WRAP: NBI exec weathers questions on credibility, qualifications</a></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3StIaciCWP4?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>Vice President Sara Duterte's alleged grave threats to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s life are a matter concerning national security, Malacanang said on Monday.</p>

Vice President Sara Duterte's alleged grave threats to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s life are a matter concerning national security, Malacanang said on Monday.

Palace: Duterte’s alleged threats vs Marcos a national security concern

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Palace: Duterte’s alleged threats vs Marcos a national security concern

Jervis Manahan,

Vivienne Gulla,

ABS-CBN News

Published July 15, 2026 02:39 PM PHT

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Updated July 15, 2026 02:54 PM PHT

Read More:

Castro

Duterte

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