The Philippines’ Justice Department on Monday called Vice President Sara Duterte the “mastermind” of a plot to assassinate the country’s president, giving her five days to respond to a subpoena.

Duterte is being asked to explain herself following a blistering weekend news conference in which she said she had ordered President Ferdinand Marcos to be killed if an alleged plot to kill her succeeded.

“The government is taking action to protect our duly elected president,” Justice Undersecretary Jesse Andres said Monday.

“The premeditated plot to assassinate the president, as declared by the confessed mastermind, will now face legal consequences.”

Hours earlier, in his first public comments on the issue, Marcos promised to “fight back” against a threat he called “disturbing.”

The Marcos-Duterte alliance, which came to power in 2022, has collapsed spectacularly in the run-up to next year’s midterm elections, with both sides trading drug abuse allegations.

Duterte, who faces possible impeachment hearings, told reporters on Saturday that she herself was the subject of an assassination plot and had ordered that Marcos be killed if the operation was successful .

During the expletive-filled press conference, Duterte also named first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and his presidential cousin Martin Romualdez as potential targets.

“I said, if I die, don’t stop until you kill them,” she reportedly told a member of the security team about the trio.

Hours later, the presidential palace said it considered the comments an “active threat.”

“This kind of criminal attempt must not go unanswered,” Marcos said Monday. “As a democratic country, we must uphold the law.”

“The vice president is not immune from prosecution. She may be subject to any criminal or administrative case,” Andres told reporters, adding that the subpoena was being served .

He added that a manhunt was underway for the “assassin” allegedly hired by Duterte.

– Marcos-Duterte fault –

Duterte, daughter of former President Rodrigo Duterte, was Marcos’ running mate in the 2022 presidential election which saw their ticket win a landslide victory.

She remains his constitutional successor if he fails to complete his six-year term.

But it is currently the subject of an investigation in the House of Representatives, led by Romualdez.

Both Romualdez and Duterte are expected to run for president in 2028.

Duterte resigned as education secretary in June as relations between the two families reached a breaking point.

Months earlier, his father had accused Marcos of being an “addict,” with the president saying the next day that his predecessor’s health was deteriorating due to long-term use of the powerful opioid fentanyl.

Neither has provided evidence to support their claims.

In October, Duterte said she felt “used” after teaming up with Marcos for the 2022 vote.

cgm/cwl/rsc