Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos stated on Monday that he will not dismiss "troubling" threats directed at him, just days after his estranged vice president revealed she had instructed someone to assassinate the president if she were to be killed.
In a video message where he did not directly mention Vice President Sara Duterte, his former running mate, Marcos emphasized that "such criminal plans should not be ignored." Security agencies have announced they will enhance their protocols and investigate Duterte's statement. The vice president's office has yet to respond to a Reuters request for comment.
This dramatic revelation of a deepening rift between the two most influential political families in the Southeast Asian nation came during a Saturday morning press conference. Duterte disclosed that she had communicated with an assassin, instructing him to eliminate Marcos, his wife, and the speaker of the Philippine House if she were to be killed. "I have spoken to a person. I said, if I get killed, go kill BBM (Marcos), (first lady) Liza Araneta, and (Speaker) Martin Romualdez. No joke. No joke," Duterte declared in a briefing filled with profanity. "I said, do not stop until you kill them and then he said yes."
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