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The Philippines
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Philippines’ Marcos calls assassination threat ‘troubling’ after VP Duterte’s comments

The president said threats against him would not be taken lightly after the vice-president said she had hired someone to eliminate him

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Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr with his deputy Sara Duterte-Carpio in Manila. Photo: Kyodo
Raissa RoblesandReuters
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.”

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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”.

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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.

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