Assassination Threat From Duterte Heightens Feud With Marcos

(Bloomberg) -- Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s office said comments about assassination plans made by Vice President Sara Duterte constitute an “active threat” to his life that warrants “immediate proper action,” as the feud between the two powerful political families escalated.

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Duterte, the daughter of firebrand former leader Rodrigo Duterte, said in a virtual briefing early Saturday that she’d made arrangements for Marcos, his wife Liza, and his cousin House Speaker Martin Romualdez to be murdered if she is killed.

“Any threat to the life of the President must always be taken seriously, more so that this threat has been publicly revealed in clear and certain terms,” the Presidential Communications Office said in a statement Saturday. It said that Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin has referred the matter to the Presidential Security Command.

Duterte’s alliance with Marcos was on shaky ground within a year of their 2022 landslide win on a joint ticket. The feud between the two families intensified in June when the vice president resigned from Marcos’ cabinet. Marcos’ allies in congress had been scrutinizing Duterte over her office’s alleged misuse of funds, which she denies.

“Don’t worry about my security because I’ve already talked to someone,” Duterte said during the briefing Saturday. “I told him if I get killed, kill BBM, Liza Araneta and Martin Romualdez,” she said, using the initials of the president, who’s known as Bongbong. “I told him, don’t stop until you have killed them and then he said yes.”

Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief Romeo Brawner vowed the military will remain loyal to the Constitution, amid the increasingly fractious disagreements between the country’s two top officials.

“We are facing greater challenges that require the strength of a united country and armed forces,” Brawner said in a statement. “As a cornerstone of national stability, the AFP shall remain non-partisan with utmost respect for our democratic institutions and civilian authority.”

The Presidential Security Command, in a separate statement, said it considers the matter as one “of national security” and will take all necessary measures to ensure the president’s safety.

“Any threat to the life of the President and the First Family, regardless of its origin — and especially one made so brazenly in public — is treated with the utmost seriousness,” the presidential security group said.

During the online briefing, Duterte also cursed Marcos and repeated a previous comment that he doesn’t know how to be president.

Duterte has previously said Marcos’ allies are attempting to build an impeachment case against her. Her latest and most scathing remarks yet after the collapse of their alliance followed the move of lawmakers allied with Marcos and Romualdez to detain her chief of staff, Zuleika Lopez, for allegedly hampering a house panel’s probe into how her office’s budget was used.

--With assistance from Cliff Venzon and Andreo Calonzo.

(Updates with comments from military chief, presidential guard)

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