MANILA: The Quezon City Regional Trial Court on Friday (Sept 11) deferred the arraignment of Vice President Sara Duterte’s three counts of grave threats.
Duterte’s lawyer, Paul Lawrence Lim confirmed that RTC Branch 98 has postponed the arraignment, although he declined to provide details citing “sensitive” matters and “respect for the court.
“We asked that her arraignment be deferred for a number of reasons. This was allowed by the court.”
“For now, while the court is considering our motion, her arraignment is suspended” he added.
He noted that the court has asked the prosecution to comment on the motion within a certain period, but he could not immediately say when.
Duterte personally appeared before the court on Friday to be arraigned.
The charges against Duterte stem from her November 2024 remarks claiming to have supposedly contacted an assassin to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and presidential cousin and then-House Speaker Martin Romualdez if she were killed.
The same statements constitute one of the Articles of Impeachment against her that are still being tried before the Senate.
“The vice president follows the law even if she questions the jurisdiction of the court,” Lim maintained.
He also noted that their camp had asked the Supreme Court to issue a temporary restraining order to block the proceedings before the Quezon City court, citing her claimed immunity from suit as a sitting impeachable official. - Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
