By Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte sparked a national security crisis Saturday by publicly announcing she had contracted an assassin to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., his wife, and the House speaker if she herself is assassinated, prompting immediate action from presidential security forces.
The unprecedented threat, which Duterte emphasized “was not a joke,” came during a pre-dawn news conference where she launched an expletive-laden attack on Marcos’ leadership. “Don’t worry about my security because I’ve talked with somebody. I said ‘if I’m killed, you’ll kill BBM, Liza Araneta and Martin Romualdez. No joke, no joke,'” Duterte declared, using the president’s popular nickname.
Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin referred the “active threat” to the Presidential Security Command, which immediately enhanced protection for Marcos and described the public statement as a national security issue. The security force announced it was “coordinating with law enforcement agencies to detect, deter, and defend against any and all threats to the president and the first family.”
The explosive development marks a dramatic deterioration in relations between the former running mates, who won landslide victories in May 2022 on a platform of national unity. Their alliance rapidly dissolved over policy differences, particularly regarding China’s actions in the South China Sea, leading to Duterte’s resignation from Marcos’ Cabinet in June as education secretary.
The immediate trigger for Duterte’s outburst was the detention of her chief of staff, Zuleika Lopez, by House members allied with Speaker Martin Romualdez during an investigation into possible budget misuse. Lopez was later hospitalized after falling ill.
Military chief Gen. Romeo Brawner moved to calm tensions, issuing a statement affirming the 160,000-member Armed Forces’ nonpartisan stance. “We call for calm and resolve,” Brawner said. “We reiterate our need to stand together against those who will try to break our bonds as Filipinos.”
The 46-year-old vice president, a lawyer by profession, is the daughter of former President Rodrigo Duterte, whose controversial anti-drug campaign is under investigation by the International Criminal Court for possible crimes against humanity. The elder Duterte recently admitted to maintaining a “death squad” during his tenure as Davao City mayor in testimony before the Philippine Senate.
Legal experts note that Duterte’s public threat could violate the Philippine penal code, which prohibits threatening to inflict harm on a person or their family, carrying penalties of imprisonment and fines.
