Philippine authorities have stepped up security after the country’s Vice President Sara Duterte recently made a threat to have someone assassinating President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his wife, First Lady Liza Araneta, as well as the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines, Martin Romualdez, the president’s cousin – if Duterte “gets killed”.
In response, Marcos said in a video message yesterday that he would fight back against the threat, pointing out, “Such criminal plans should not be overlooked,” without naming Duterte, according to various media reports.
Duterte, the daughter of former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte, reportedly made the threat in her response to comments regarding her safety while in the House of Representatives during an online press briefing, which was broadcast on her Facebook page, on Saturday.
She said, mainly in Tagalog, “Don’t worry about my safety. I have talked to a person, and I said, if I get killed, go kill BBM [Bongbong Marcos], Liza Araneta and Martin Romualdez. No joke, no joke.”
Duterte added, “I said, do not stop until you kill them and he [the person] said yes,” after which the Southeast Asian country’s Presidential Communications Office said the remarks were being taken as a serious threat against Marcos.
“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,” says a statement issued by the Presidential Communications Office, as reported by Al Jazeera.
Meanwhile, the country’s National Bureau of Investigation will issue a subpoena to Duterte regarding the threat she made, according to a report by Inquirer.net. (Wong Kin Ang)
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