Philippine police files formal complaint against VP Sara Duterte

MANILA — Philippine police said on Nov 27 they had filed a formal complaint against Vice-President Sara Duterte and several of her security detail over a recent incident at the Lower House of Congress.

The complaint is for direct assault, disobedience, and grave coercion during an incident at the lower chamber and a hospital, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said in a statement.

Duterte, the daughter of firebrand former President Rodrigo Duterte, has been the subject of a heated congressional enquiry into the spending of her office as vice-president and education minister, during which she has clashed repeatedly with lawmakers.

"The PNP remains steadfast in its commitment to uphold justice and ensure that all individuals are held accountable under the law, regardless of their position," police chief Rommel Francisco Marbil said.

The complaint is the latest setback for Duterte after a bitter breakdown in her relationship with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, with whom she ran for office.

Duterte has been furious over the detention at the complex of the Lower House of her aide, who is also facing a house enquiry. The aide was later transferred to a government hospital for medical attention.

On Nov 23, Duterte said she has contracted an assassin to kill the president, his wife and the speaker of the Philippine house, if she herself were killed, prompting a rebuke from Marcos.

Philippine law officials on Nov 26 summoned Duterte for questioning over the statements.

She said her words had been twisted to create a false narrative that Marcos' life was under active threat, calling her remarks a "conditional act of revenge."

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