Vice President Sara Duterte has asked a Quezon City court to quash the grave threats case filed against her by the Department of Justice (DoJ) over her 2024 remarks involving President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.

Duterte’s lawyer Paul Lawrence Lim confirmed Thursday that the defense had filed a motion to quash the information, citing lack of jurisdiction.

However, he declined to discuss the motion’s details, citing the case’s sub judice status and the lawyers’ professional obligations.

Prosecutor General Richard Anthony Fadullon said the prosecution received a court order directing it to comment on the motion within five days, although the DoJ had yet to receive its copy.

He said prosecutors would review the defense’s arguments before submitting their response and declined to predict how the court would rule.

The DoJ filed the grave threats case on 11 Aug. following a preliminary investigation into a complaint lodged by the National Bureau of Investigation.

The case stemmed from Duterte’s remarks at a November 2024 news conference in which she said she had arranged for someone to kill Marcos, his wife and Romualdez if she herself were killed.

The same remarks were made part of the House of Representatives’ impeachment complaint against Duterte before the Senate.

The NBI investigated the remarks and recommended criminal charges. Prosecutors later found probable cause to pursue the grave threats case.

Fadullon said the Regional Trial Court would determine whether the case could proceed, including whether Duterte’s status as an impeachable official affects the criminal proceedings.

“Whatever it is that’s going on before the impeachment court is different from the one that we have now. This is before the Regional Trial Court,” Fadullon said.

“That’s why we will leave it to the ruling of the court on how it will dispose the same, whether it believes that the charges can be sustained, even if the accused in this case is an impeachable officer,” he added.