In a stunning and chilling revelation that has sent shockwaves through the Philippines, Vice President Sara Duterte declared in a press conference on Saturday that she has instructed an assassin to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, along with his wife and the speaker of the House of Representatives, if Duterte herself is assassinated. The bombshell threat, delivered in profanity-laced remarks, marks an explosive escalation in the widening rift between the country’s two most powerful political families.
“I have talked to a person. I said, if I get killed, go kill BBM [Marcos], [first lady] Liza Araneta and [speaker] Martin Romualdez. No joke. No joke,” Duterte stated bluntly, referring to the president by his widely used initials. She went on to emphasize the deadly seriousness of her instructions: “I said, do not stop until you kill them, and then he said yes.”
The vice president’s shocking statements came in response to an online commenter urging her to stay safe, as she was in the “enemy territory” of the lower chamber of Congress overnight with her chief of staff. While Duterte did not cite any specific alleged threat against herself, her words laid bare the depth of animosity and distrust between the Marcos and Duterte camps.
President’s Office Vows “Immediate Proper Action”
Reacting swiftly to Duterte’s incendiary revelation, the office of President Marcos Jr released a statement vowing to take “immediate proper action” in response to the “active threat” against the president’s life. The presidential communications office underscored the gravity of such a threat, particularly one “publicly revealed in clear and certain terms” by the vice president herself.
“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 statement declared.
The executive secretary has reportedly referred the matter to the presidential security command for urgent action. Duterte’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the president’s forceful response.
Duterte: “This Country Is Going to Hell”
In her blistering press conference, Duterte did not mince words about the state of the nation under Marcos Jr’s leadership. “This country is going to hell because we are led by a person who doesn’t know how to be a president and who is a liar,” she declared, directly attacking the president’s competence and integrity.
The vice president’s latest broadside against Marcos Jr comes on the heels of her resignation from his cabinet in June, a move that signaled the total collapse of the once-formidable political alliance that had propelled both to resounding electoral victories in 2022. Since then, the acrimony between the Marcos and Duterte camps has only intensified.
Feud Over Budget Cuts, Foreign Policy
One major flashpoint in the deteriorating relationship has been the slashing of the vice-presidential office’s budget by nearly two-thirds, a move spearheaded by House Speaker Martin Romualdez, a cousin of President Marcos Jr. The draconian cuts have severely hampered Duterte’s ability to carry out her duties and pursue her agenda.
Beyond the budget battle, the Marcos and Duterte families are also reportedly at loggerheads over foreign policy and the controversial war on drugs waged by Sara Duterte’s father, former president Rodrigo Duterte. The younger Duterte has been an outspoken critic of Marcos Jr’s approach to relations with China and the United States.
Escalating Rhetoric, Accusations of Incompetence
Saturday’s shocking death threat is just the latest salvo in an increasingly hostile war of words between Duterte and Marcos Jr. In October, the vice president accused the president of gross incompetence, even declaring that she had imagined cutting his head off – a remark as startling as it was revealing of the depth of enmity between the two leaders.
Under the Philippine system, presidents and vice presidents are elected separately and can hail from rival parties, often leading to friction. But rarely has such friction escalated to the level of public death threats traded by the two highest officials in the land.
Showdown Looms in Midterm Elections
The explosive feud is unfolding against the backdrop of upcoming midterm elections in May, widely seen as a referendum on Marcos Jr’s popularity and an opportunity for him to consolidate his grip on power. The high-stakes electoral contest has only heightened tensions and raised the specter of political violence in a nation with a history of deadly rivalry between elite factions.
The most notorious episode of such violence was the 1983 assassination of Senator Benigno Aquino, who was gunned down as he arrived home from exile to challenge the rule of President Marcos Jr’s father and namesake, the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. While there is no indication of an imminent physical threat against either Marcos Jr or Duterte, the vice president’s jarring words have raised the political temperature to a boiling point.
A Nation on Edge
As the Philippines grapples with the fallout from Duterte’s explosive allegations, the nation finds itself on a knife’s edge, torn between two powerful political clans whose once-promising alliance has devolved into a bitter feud. With both sides trading barbs and threats, and with the stakes rising ahead of the May elections, many Filipinos are watching anxiously to see whether the conflict will escalate further – and whether the fragile bonds of democratic stability will hold.
For now, all eyes are on President Marcos Jr and his government’s response to the vice president’s extraordinary claims. Will the accusations be investigated thoroughly and transparently? Will those in power rise above personal animus and family rivalries to uphold the rule of law and the integrity of the state? The coming days and weeks may provide the answers – and reveal whether the Philippines can step back from the brink of a dangerous new era of political strife.
