VP Sara Duterte seeks TRO on grave threats case

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte has asked the Supreme Court (SC) to immediately resolve her petition seeking relief for her grave threats case before a Quezon City court continues with its proceedings. 

In her urgent motion dated Sept. 7, Duterte sought the urgent resolution of her application for a temporary restraining order (TRO) and/or writ of preliminary injunction as she asserted that she has immunity from suit as a sitting impeachable official.

The request for a TRO and other injunctive reliefs are included in the petition for certiorari and prohibition filed by Duterte last month.

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“With the evident haste by which (Duterte’s) criminal prosecution continues to move, there is a real and present danger that the reliefs sought… the restraint of criminal prosecution of an incumbent impeachable officer–under the constitutional rule of limited procedural immunity, will be rendered moot and academic, if immediate injunctive relief is not now obtained,” read the motion released by the high court on Thursday.

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The Vice President noted that Branch 98 of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC) presided by Judge Maria Angelica de Ramos, one of the respondents in her petition, already moved the case after an arrest warrant was issued on Sept. 4 and her arraignment was scheduled on Sept. 11.

“The imminent arraignment and pre-trial demonstrate that the criminal proceedings are not merely threatened but are actively and rapidly progressing, notwithstanding the serious and far-reaching jurisdictional and constitutional issues to be resolved,” Duterte added.

The Office of the Vice President on Thursday confirmed the filing of the petition and the motion to challenge her prosecution for grave threats filed by the DOJ and the ongoing proceedings before the Quezon City RTC. 

Aside from De Ramos, other respondents in the petition are Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida, Prosecutor General Richard Fadullon and the cybercrime division of the National Bureau of Investigation.

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The latest motion by Duterte’s camp came after she posted bail last week for her provisional liberty.

Vida, in a press briefing on Thursday, maintained that Department of Justice prosecutors proceeded with filing the case against Duterte on Aug. 11 because only the President enjoys immunity from suit while in office.

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Duterte is facing three counts of grave threats for her outburst in an online press conference in November 2024 wherein she said that she hired a hitman to target President Ferdinand R. Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez if she herself gets killed. /gsg/mcm