Sara Duterte’s arraignment for grave threats postponed again

VEEP. Vice President Sara Duterte, along with legal counsels, arrive at the Quezon City Regional Trial Court, following the issuance of an arrest warrant against her over a grave threats case, on September 5, 2026.

Jire Carreon/Rappler

The Vice President was also supposed to be arraigned on September 11, but it was deferred after her camp sought to inhibit the judge from the case

AT A GLANCE

• Vice President Sara Duterte's arraignment for grave threats has been postponed again due to her camp's pending motion for reconsideration regarding the presiding judge's decision.
• Duterte faces three counts of grave threats related to alleged assassination threats against President Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez, with charges filed by the Department of Justice in August.
• In addition to the criminal case, Duterte is undergoing an impeachment trial in the Senate, which could lead to her removal from office and impact her eligibility for the 2028 presidential election.

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MANILA, Philippines – Vice President Sara Duterte’s grave threats case has again been delayed after her arraignment at Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 98 was postponed on Friday, October 9.

Duterte is facing three counts of grave threats filed by the Department of Justice last August due to her alleged assassination threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former House speaker Martin Romualdez.

Arraignment is the stage in criminal proceedings following a respondent’s arrest or surrender.

This is when the court reads the accused the case and asks for either a guilty or not-guilty plea. If the accused enters a guilty plea, the case will immediately move to conviction, usually with a lower sentence.

But the arraignment did not push through again because of the Duterte camp’s pending motion for partial reconsideration of Presiding Judge Maria Angelica de Ramos’ resolution that junked Duterte’s bid to inhibit her from the case.

The Vice President was also supposed to be arraigned on September 11, but it was deferred after her camp sought De Ramos’ inhibition.

“Minabuti ng presiding judge na pag-aralan muna lahat ng bagay na ‘to at i-reset, i-cancel muna ang hearing today at i-reset to some other date. Now that other date, hindi ko muna babanggitin, pasensya na. I would rather na manggaling ‘yon sa court,” Duterte’s lawyer, Paul Lawrence Lim, told reporters outside the court.

(The judge decided to study all of these first and reset, cancel the hearing today, and reset it to some other date. Now that other date, I will not disclose it for now, I am sorry. I would rather have the court to announce it.)

On top of this, the Duterte camp also has a pending petition for certiorari with the Supreme Court challenging the court’s jurisdiction over her case. Certiorari is a legal action based on possible grave abuse of discretion, or a review of another body’s decision.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) initiated criminal investigation against Duterte after her infamous midnight press conference on November 23, 2024. There, in response to a supporter’s question, she told them not to worry about her security and that she had already “talked to someone” who would assassinate Marcos, the First Lady, and Romualdez if she were killed.

In August, the Department of Justice charged Duterte before the court after it found enough evidence or prima facie evidence with reasonable certainty of conviction in the case.

De Ramos ordered Duterte’s arrest on September 4 after she found that there was probable cause – or enough evidence – to believe that the Vice President committed the crime. Duterte posted bail on September 5, where she dropped her now-controversial line about “not feeling safe.”

The Vice President is also in the middle of an impeachment trial at the Senate that could remove her from her position and bar her from running in the 2028 presidential election. This grave threats allegation is also part of the articles of impeachment or allegations against Duterte in the impeachment trial. – Rappler.com