Philippines law agency recommends filing criminal charges against VP Duterte over threat

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MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippines’ National Bureau of Investigation has recommended filing criminal charges against Vice President Sara Duterte over an alleged threat to assassinate President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and others, the agency’s head said on Wednesday. 

“We have finally recommended the filing of inciting to sedition and grave threats against the vice president,” NBI Director Jaime Santiago told radio broadcaster DZBB in an interview. 

Santiago said the recommendation has been submitted to the justice ministry, which will then decide if it will conduct a preliminary investigation.

Duterte, in a brief comment sent through her media officer, said the NBI’s recommendation was “as expected”.

The case stemmed from Duterte’s remarks in November that she has spoken with an assassin, and instructed him to kill Marcos, his wife and his cousin, the speaker of the Philippine House, if she were killed. She has denied threatening them and reiterated last week that she made no such threat.

The vice president has been embroiled in a long-running row with former ally Marcos. She is facing a separate impeachment complaint over the threat she made and for allegedly misusing public funds while vice-president and education minister.

(Reporting by Mikhail Flores; Editing by John Mair)