The courts will decide whether the grave threats case against Vice President Sara Duterte can proceed while her impeachment trial is ongoing, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said.

DOJ spokesperson Atty. Polo Martinez said Duterte's argument that she cannot be prosecuted for an offense that is also the subject of her impeachment case is a legal issue that should be resolved by the court.

“Again, that should be properly ventilated with the court,” Martinez said.

“We cannot comment on the merits as of now. So even, we can only discuss procedurally. Hanggang doon lang po muna tayo,” he added.

Duterte's legal counsel, Atty. Paul Lawrence Lim, earlier expressed confidence that the grave threats case against the Vice President would be dismissed.

Lim argued that Duterte, as a sitting impeachable officer, “may not be prosecuted for an alleged offense that is also the subject of an impeachment case.”

He said Duterte would “exercise all available legal remedies in due course” while maintaining that she remains presumed innocent.

The grave threats case stemmed from Duterte's remarks during an online press conference in which she said she had instructed someone to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and former Speaker Martin Romualdez if she herself were killed.

The remarks also form part of the impeachment case against the Vice President.

The DOJ earlier maintained that impeachment proceedings and a criminal case are separate and independent proceedings that may run simultaneously.