Duterte camp asks court to hold off on arrest warrant over grave threats case

MANILA, Philippines — Part of Vice President Sara Duterte’s camp’s motion to quash is a request to defer the issuance of an arrest warrant against her while the Quezon City court considers their argument that it lacks jurisdiction over the grave threats complaint.

Lawyer Paul Lim, who represents Duterte in the case, disclosed this during an online press conference Friday following the filing of the motion to quash on the ground of “lack of jurisdiction.”

“Yung deferment of arrest warrant ay isa sa mga bagay na hiningi namin sa korte na huwag muna siyang mag-issue habang dinidinig pa itong usaping ito nga tungkol sa jurisdiction,” Lim said when asked about the speculations that the court may issue an arrest warrant against the vice president.

(The deferment of the arrest warrant is one of the things we asked the court not to issue while we are still hearing this matter regarding jurisdiction.)

“At masasabi ko lang, ang issuance of a warrant is an exercise of jurisdiction, meaning para makapag-isyu ang korte ng isang warrant of arrest, kailangan meron siyang jurisdiction,” he explained.

(And I can only say that the issuance of a warrant is an exercise of jurisdiction, meaning for the court to issue a warrant of arrest, it must have jurisdiction.)

When asked about the vice president’s legal move should the court deny the motion to quash and issue an arrest warrant, the lawyer said, “There is no final decision yet.”

“Marami namang remedyo na available. Pwedeng mag-surrender, maaaring kwestiyunin yung order. Sa ngayon, hindi ko pa masabi, pero lahat namang options are being considered,” he said.

(There are many remedies available. She can surrender, we can question the order. Right now, I can’t say, but all options are being considered.)

Earlier this Friday, Lim said they are also filing a manifestation to conduct oral arguments to dismiss the grave threats case filed against Duterte.

It was on Tuesday when the Department of Justice confirmed that it filed a complaint for three counts of grave threats against the vice president at the Quezon City Regional Trial Court.

This is in connection with the alleged death threat she uttered against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.

The supposed threats she uttered in an online press conference in November 2024 are also key part of Duterte’s case at her ongoing Senate impeachment trial.

Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.