Sara Duterte vows to stay in PH even if arrest warrant is issued

MANILA, Philippines —  Vice President Sara Duterte vowed on Wednesday that she would not leave the country should the complaints filed against her lead to her arrest.

“I do not plan to leave the country or hide if there’s a warrant of arrest, mainly because my children are here,” said Duterte in a press conference.

“So when I’m detained, I want to be able to see my children,” she added.

Duterte made the pronouncement after skipping an investigation conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) over her remarks about having President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his family killed.

READ: VP Duterte says she does not regret kill remarks vs Marcos

The NBI is probing whether Duterte committed grave threats under Article 282 of the Revised Penal Code in relation to Section 6 of the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 (Republic Act No. 10175) or violated the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 (RA 11479).

Instead of answering the subpoena sent by the NBI, however, Duterte opted to submit a position paper through her lawyers.

Besides being under investigation by the NBI, Duterte is also facing complaints for grave coercion, direct assault, and disobedience — all of which were filed by the Philippine National Police.

She is also facing disbarment complaints before the Supreme Court.

All these stemmed from a threat made by Duterte in a press conference she held online, claiming that she instructed someone to kill Marcos, his wife Liza, and cousin Speaker Martin Romualdez should she herself die.

However, Duterte said her lawyers are already studying the complaints filed against her, including the impeachment complaints which have begun since last year.