Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte revealed on Saturday that she has hired an assassin to target the president, his wife, and the House of Representatives speaker if she is ever killed. She made it clear that this was a serious statement and not a joke.

Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin directed an elite presidential guards unit to take prompt, appropriate action in response to the active threat against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The course of action against the vice president was not immediately apparent. "Acting on the vice president's clear and unequivocal statement that she had contracted an assassin to kill the president if an alleged plot against her succeeds, the Executive Secretary has referred this active threat to the Presidential Security Command for immediate proper action,” a government statement said.

"Any threat to the life of the president must always be taken seriously, more so that this threat has been publicly revealed in clear and certain terms, it added. In the May 2022 elections, Marcos and Duterte scored resounding victories on a platform of national unity. Marcos also named Duterte his running mate for vice president. The two leaders and their teams quickly clashed due to major disagreements, especially over how to handle China's aggressive actions in the disputed South China Sea. Duterte stepped down in June from her roles as education secretary and head of an anti-insurgency body in the Marcos administration.

The vice president became a vocal critic of Marcos, his wife Liza Araneta-Marcos, and House Speaker Martin Romualdez, the president's ally and second cousin, like her equally outspoken father, former President Rodrigo Duterte. She accused them of corruption, incompetence, and politically persecuting the Duterte family and its close supporters. The conflict escalated when House members supporting Romualdez and Marcos decided to detain her chief of staff, Zuleika Lopez. Lopez was accused of obstructing a congressional investigation into the possible misuse of her budget as vice president and education secretary. She later fell ill and was moved to a hospital, breaking down in tears upon learning about plans to temporarily detain her in a women’s prison.

In a tirade of expletives, Sara Duterte, accused Marcos, his wife, and the House speaker of incompetence during an online news conference. The 46-year-old attorney implied there was an unidentified plot to assassinate her when questioned about worries about her safety. I've spoken to someone, so don't worry about my safety. "You'll kill BBM, Liza Araneta, and Martin Romualdez if I'm killed," I said. Without more explanation, the vice president used the initials that many people use to refer to the president and remarked, "No joke, no joke."

"I've given my order, If I die, don't stop until you've killed them.' And he said, 'yes,' the vice president said. Such public statements could be considered an offence under the Philippine penal code that threatens to harm an individual or his family, punishable by a jail sentence and a fine. The current vice president is the daughter of former President Rodrigo Duterte. Duterte, known for his tough anti-drug campaign as a city mayor and later as president, oversaw a police-led crackdown that resulted in thousands of deaths, mostly of small-time drug suspects. The International Criminal Court is investigating these killings as potential crimes against humanity.

Duterte has denied allowing extrajudicial killings but has made conflicting statements. Recently, during a Philippine Senate inquiry, he admitted to running a death squad of gangsters to target other criminals during his time as mayor of Davao City.