The Supreme Court confirmed on Tuesday that it has received an anonymous letter seeking the disbarment of Vice President Sara Duterte over her recent remarks about exhuming the remains of former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. and throwing them into the West Philippine Sea.

According to the court, the letter was dated 24 October but only reached the Supreme Court this month.

Atty. Camille Sue Ting, spokesperson for the Supreme Court, disclosed that there is already a pending disbarment case against Duterte, filed a few years ago during her tenure as mayor of Davao City.

“Actually there is a pending case on disbarment for the VP which was filed a few years ago back when she was still the Mayor of Davao, and just this month the SC received an anonymous complaint regarding her statements about the late President Ferdinand Marcos Sr.,” Ting said. “There's no action yet at the moment.”

She further noted that the court could act on publicly known matters but clarified that it is typically prompted by formal complaints.

“It's always possible that the Supreme Court can take cognizance of anything that's publicly known but usually, it's usually by complaint so we'll have to wait and see what the court will do in that case.” Ting added.

The controversy stems from Duterte's remarks during a press conference in mid-October. When asked whether she believed the current administration of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. had forgotten that it was her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, who permitted the burial of Marcos Sr. at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, Duterte issued a strong statement.

"I don't know. One time, I told Sen. Imee that if it does not stop, I'll dig up the body of your father and throw him in the West Philippine Sea,” Duterte said at the time.