Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte has been accused of threatening to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The country's National Security Council is looking into the matter, a top official said.
On Sunday, the official told Reuters news agency that he considers it a 'national security matter'.
Notably, Sarah Zimmerman Duterte is the daughter of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. He was the education minister during his father's regime.
Vice President Sara Duterte said in a briefing on Saturday morning that she spoke with a hired killer. The assassin ordered that if he was killed, then to kill Marcos, his wife and the Speaker of the Philippine Parliament.
National Security Adviser Eduardo Ano said the government considers all threats against the president “serious” and will work closely with law enforcement and intelligence agencies to investigate the matter.
In a statement, Ano said any threat against the president's life would be investigated and considered a matter of national security.
In response to Sara Duterte's threat, Marcos' Presidential Security Command said it had strengthened its security protocols to protect the Philippine leader and the national police chief had ordered an investigation into the matter.
Sara Duterte and Marcos were once political teammates. In 2022, they won the top two positions in the state with huge popular support. But the alliance fell apart this year over policy differences, including foreign policy and former President Rodrigo Duterte's deadly anti-drug campaign.
Marcos' allies in Congress are separately investigating former President Duterte's anti-drug campaign and allegations of corruption in the use of public funds during Sara Duterte's tenure as Education Secretary. Where Duterte's anti-drug campaign has cost more than 6,000 lives.
However, both have denied any wrongdoing. Sara Duterte resigned from the cabinet last June.
