Malacañang maintained Wednesday that Vice President Sara Duterte's statements against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. constitute a threat that should not be tolerated, describing the issue as one of national security rather than an ordinary criminal offense.

Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro defended the government's position after Duterte's legal team argued before the Senate impeachment court that the Vice President's statements should not be treated as threats.

"Kung ito ay hindi threats, ano pa ba ang maaari nating i-define sa salitang threats? So, ang ganitong klase na pagresponde ay normal at dapat na i-justify at i-tolerate?" Castro said during a Palace briefing.

"Tandaan po natin, ang pinagbantaan dito... ang tao na nais ipapatay ay ang Pangulo, First Lady at dating House Speaker. Hindi ito simpleng grave threats na maaaring isampa diyan sa korte. Hindi involved dito ang simpleng tao. Ang pinag-uusapan po natin dito ay ang Pangulo. Ito ay isyu about national security," she added.

During Tuesday's impeachment proceedings, defense counsel Mark Vinluan argued that Duterte's remarks were merely part of a question-and-answer exchange and did not amount to a threat.

"In other words, had they not watched the video, they would not have known about it. There was no threat to begin with," Vinluan told the impeachment court.

Castro rejected the argument, asking whether the defense was suggesting that anyone could threaten the life of the country's head of state.

"Ibig bang sabihin ng kaniyang mga abogado na kahit sino na lamang na Pilipino o kahit sinong tao ay dapat o maaaring magbanta sa buhay ng isang head of state?" she said.

"Hindi normal ang ganitong klaseng depensa... Ang pinag-uusapan natin dito ay buhay ng Pangulo, buhay ng head of state ng Pilipinas; at ang nagbabanta ay hindi rin simpleng tao – Bise Presidente na umamin na siya ay mayroong kakilalang killer."

Castro also said Duterte had never denied making the statements.

"May iba pa ba siyang meaning sa mga sinabi niyang iyon? In the first place, wala siyang dinenay na ito ay kaniyang sinabi – na-justify na lamang nila kung bakit nila ito sinabi," she said.

The Palace official added that the defense's claim that Duterte's remarks stemmed from the alleged mistreatment of her chief of staff, Atty. Zuleika Lopez, should be supported by evidence.

Castro also dismissed as "katawa-tawa" the defense's argument that the remarks were not directly communicated to President Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.

"Isang katawa-tawa ang ganiyang mga pahayag. Unang-una, hindi ito lihim; lahat ng tao halos nakapanood, hindi lang sa Pilipinas kung hindi sa buong mundo," she said.

She noted that the statements were broadcast through a livestream and argued that the alleged targets would inevitably have learned of them.

The Senate impeachment court earlier allowed the presentation of a video in which Duterte was heard saying she had allegedly arranged for a hired killer to target President Marcos, the First Lady, and Romualdez if anything happened to her.