Manila:<Text>

Malaca±ang on Wednesday maintained that threats against President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. must be treated seriously, regardless of how they are framed, stressing that intimidation alone may fall under criminal liability. Palace Press Officer Claire Castro made the statement after a lawmaker reportedly described Vice President Sara Duterte's alleged remarks against the President as not serious and a mere hyperbole.

According to Philippines News Agency, in an online briefing on November 23, 2024, Duterte stated she had already tapped an assassin to kill Marcos, First Lady Liza Marcos, and then-House Speaker Martin Romualdez if she is assassinated first. Duterte emphasized that her directive to the alleged hitman she had contracted to kill the First Couple and Romualdez is 'no joke.'

Castro, a lawyer, explained that under the Revised Penal Code, grave threats involve threatening another person with the infliction of a crime against their person, ho nor, or property. She noted, "Kahit ano pa ang kondisyon niyan, nandoon ang pagbabanta, nandudoon ang pagki-create ng fear and anxiety in the person being threatened, nandudoon ang intimidation (Whatever the condition may be, the threat is there, the creation of fear and anxiety in the person being threatened is there, the intimidation is there)."

Duterte's threat is included in the impeachment complaints filed against her. On Monday, the House justice committee found the two impeachment complaints against the Vice President sufficient in form.