Philippine vice president publicly threatens to assassinate president

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Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte announced Saturday that she had contracted assassins to kill president Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his wife. Duterte warned that she was not joking and that the threat is intended as a deterrent to her own assassination.

Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin referred the "active threat" against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to an elite presidential guards force "for immediate proper action." It was not immediately clear what actions would be taken against the vice president.

Duterte and Marcos—both nepo babies of ruthless, openly-murderous former presidents— ran as a unity ticket in the May 2022 elections, but fell out soon after winning. The AP offers some context:

Like her equally outspoken father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, the vice president became a vocal critic of Marcos, his wife Liza Araneta-Marcos and House Speaker Martin Romualdez, the president's ally and cousin, accusing them of corruption, incompetence and politically persecuting the Duterte family and its close supporters.Her latest tirade was set off by the decision by House members allied with Romualdez and Marcos to detain her chief of staff, Zuleika Lopez, who was accused of hampering a congressional inquiry into the possible misuse of her budget as vice president and education secretary. Lopez was later transferred to a hospital after falling ill and wept when she heard of a plan to temporarily lock her up in a women's prison.

The Philippines—which for nearly 50 years was the United States' memory-holed colonial empire—might well become a more populous country than Japan within a year or two. No shortage of talent there!

Previously:
• Philippines' new 'dictator' will give a hero's burial to Ferdinand Marcos
• Bat guano yields antibiotic treasure in Philippines
• Mass convictions of local warlords for 2009 massacre revive faith in Philippines' justice system
• Philippines burger joint 'Brick Burgers' uses Lego-shaped buns