A Philippine court has ordered the arrest of Vice President Sara Duterte over allegations that she threatened to have President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., his wife and a former House speaker killed.

The arrest warrant was issued Friday by a court in Quezon City, near Manila, after judges rejected an attempt by Duterte’s lawyers to delay the proceedings.

Duterte faces three charges of “grave threat,” with bail set at $1,900 for each count. The criminal case adds to mounting legal and political pressure on the vice president, who is also facing impeachment proceedings that could threaten her political future.

The allegations stem from remarks Duterte made in November 2024, when she said she had arranged for a hitman to kill Marcos, first lady Liza Araneta Marcos and the president’s cousin, Martin Romualdez, who was then speaker of the House of Representatives, if she herself were killed.

Duterte later maintained that her comments were not an assassination plot but an expression of concern about her own safety following the breakdown of her political alliance with Marcos.

Her lawyer, Paul Lawrence Lim, said Duterte had no intention of avoiding the judicial process and would continue to pursue all legal options available to her.

The alleged threats are also central to impeachment proceedings against Duterte in the Philippine Senate. A conviction in the impeachment trial could remove her from office and potentially derail her expected bid for the presidency in 2028.

A spokesperson for the Justice Department confirmed the arrest warrant and rejected arguments from Duterte’s legal team that she could not face criminal prosecution while the same conduct was being examined as part of the impeachment case.

The latest development marks another escalation in the bitter political feud between two of the Philippines’ most powerful political families, whose alliance helped propel Marcos and Duterte to victory in the 2022 elections.