Philippines Vice President Sara Duterte said Saturday if she is killed, she has contracted an assassin to assassinate President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., his wife Liza Araneta-Marcos and House of Representatives Speaker Martin Romualdez.

Under the Philippine penal code, such public remarks may constitute a crime and can be punishable by a jail term and fine.

The political crisis in the Philippines has escalated dramatically as Vice President Sara Duterte issued a public threat to have President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and First Lady Liza Araneta assassinated if any harm comes to her.

Security agencies in the Philippines have stepped up safety protocols after the country's vice president said she would have president assassinated if she herself were killed.

The ‘active threat’ has been referred to the Presidential Security Command for ‘immediate proper action’ following her warning.

The vice-president of the Philippines has hired a hitman to kill the country’s president, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, his wife and the speaker of the house, in the event she is assassinated.

The statement of Vice President Sara Duterte that she hired a person to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is an “active threat,” Malacañang said

Security protocols in the Philippines have been stepped up after vice president Sara Duterte vowed to have the president assassinated if she herself were killed. The daughter of the country's previous president Rodrigo Duterte,

Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte says she has contracted an assassin to kill the president, his wife and the House of Representatives speaker if she herself is killed