Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte shockingly revealed on Saturday that she had hired hitmen to execute the president, his wife and other top officials if she faced an untimely death.
Duterte warned in an online press conference that she is very serious and not kidding about her threat to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. if something happens to her first.
Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin referred the "active threat" against the president to an elite force of the presidential guard "for appropriate and immediate action."
The Presidential Security Command said it has "enhanced and strengthened" Marcos' security protocols. "We are also coordinating closely with law enforcement agencies to detect, deter and defend against any threats against the President and the First Family," the statement said.
Security officials are treating the threat, "made so brazenly in public", with the "highest seriousness".
"We consider this a matter of national security and will take all necessary measures to ensure the safety of the President," the command said.
It is unclear what action, if any, will be taken against the vice president.
Marcos and Duterte ran on the same ticket in the May 2022 elections and both were elected overwhelmingly after campaigning for national unity.
But divisions over policy on Chinese aggression in the disputed South China Sea and other key issues interrupted the month of peace and led to a spat between Marcos and Duterte.
Duterte, a populist, is the daughter of equally controversial former president Rodrigo Duterte, a known critic of Marcos, his wife Liza Araneta-Marcos, and House Speaker Martin Romualdez, the president's ally and cousin. Duterte has accused them of corruption, incompetence and political persecution of the family and its supporters.