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Political turmoil has escalated after Vice President Sara Duterte claimed to have arranged for President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s assassination if she is slain.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. of the Philippines said on Monday that he was taking seriously “deeply concerning” threats that had been made against him, days after his vice president said she had arranged for an assassin to kill Mr. Marcos if she were murdered.
In a video address, Mr. Marcos said that “there have been a slew of reckless profanities and threats, including plans to kill some of us.” He did not directly mention Ms. Duterte.
“If it is so easy to threaten the life of a president, how much more for ordinary citizens?” he said. “Such criminal intent should never be tolerated. I will not take this sitting down.”
On Monday, the president’s security was tightened, two days after Ms. Duterte said in a virtual briefing that she had made arrangements for Mr. Marcos, his wife, Liza, and House Speaker Martin Romualdez, who is the president’s cousin, to be murdered if she were killed. Ms. Duterte said on Monday that her remarks had been “maliciously taken out of logical context.”
The Department of Justice said it would issue a subpoena against Ms. Duterte, saying on Monday it will give her five days to explain herself before investigators.
“The premeditated plot to assassinate the president as declared by the self-confessed mastermind will now face legal consequences,” Jesse Andres, the under secretary for the Justice Department, told reporters.