Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr said on Monday he will not take lightly “troubling” threats against him, just days after his estranged vice-president said she had asked someone to assassinate the president if she herself was killed.
In a recorded video message during which he did not name Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio, his former running mate, Marcos said “such criminal plans should not be overlooked.”
“If it’s that easy to plan the assassination of a president, how about ordinary citizens?” Marcos said. “As a democratic country, we need to uphold the rule of law.”
Security agencies at the weekend said they would step up their protocols and investigate the statement, which the vice-president made during an online press conference on Friday night.
During the briefing, Duterte-Carpio said she has hired “someone” to eliminate the trio should she get killed and her warning was “no joke”.
It was a show of support for her chief of staff Zuleika Lopez, who had been detained at the House of Representatives building since Wednesday after a committee cited the official for contempt.
