Vice President Sara Duterte cannot claim to be a victim in her case before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court, a lawmaker said.

“You are not a victim. You have accountability,” public prosecutor Rep. Leila de Lima wrote on her Facebook page, referring to Duterte’s claims that she was facing threats to her life.

De Lima, a staunch critic of the Duterte family, maintained that the issuance of an arrest warrant against the Vice President over grave threats was inevitable, noting that her remarks “speak for themselves.”

The case filed against Duterte stemmed from an online press conference in November 2024, during which she issued verbal threats against President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and then-House Speaker Martin Romualdez.

Officials from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said during Duterte’s ongoing impeachment trial in the Senate that an investigation was conducted motu proprio based on the persons to whom the threats were directed.

On 11 August, the Department of Justice charged Duterte with three counts of grave threats before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court based on the referral resulting from the NBI’s probe. An arrest warrant was subsequently issued on 4 September.

Duterte, accompanied by her lawyers, appeared before the court the following day to post bail amounting to P360,000 for the three charges.

Prior to entering the facility, Duterte asserted that she did not “feel safe” and feared that local authorities would kill her while making it appear that the incident was an accident.

De Lima, who was previously arrested on drug-related charges, challenged the Vice President’s fears and questioned her apparent avoidance of due process.

“Why are they avoiding and scared of due process?” she wrote in a separate post.

The lawmaker further said that the development was only a matter of time, noting that the court would not have issued a warrant without first examining the evidence on record.

Aside from her impeachment case in the Senate, De Lima said Duterte was once again being required to answer the allegations against her.

“VP Sara may not be used to being held accountable, but now she must answer the accusations against her in a criminal court,” she said.

“This shouldn’t have taken a long time, but at least, it’s finally happening,” she added.