THE Presidential Security Command (PSC) on Saturday said it had "heightened and strengthened its security protocols" for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and the first family following an "active threat" made by Vice President Sara Duterte.

In a statement, the PSC said it was also closely coordinating with law enforcement agencies "to detect, deter, and defend against any and all threats to the president and the first family."

"Any threat to the life of the president and the first family, regardless of its origin — and especially one made so brazenly in public — is treated with the utmost seriousness. We consider this a matter of national security and shall take all necessary measures to ensure the president's safety," it added.

The statement was issued after Executive Secretary Lucas referred Duterte's threat to the PSC for "immediate proper action."

In a statement, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said that the Palace took the threats made by Duterte seriously.

"Acting on the vice president's clear and unequivocal statement that she had contracted an assassin to kill the president if an alleged plot against her succeeds, the executive secretary has referred this active threat to the Presidential Security Command for immediate proper action," the PCO said.

"Any threat to the life of the president must always be taken seriously, more so that this threat has been publicly revealed in clear and certain terms," it added.

On Friday, Duterte claimed in an online press conference that she had contracted an assassin to kill Marcos and his wife should anything bad happen to her.

She also claimed that House Speaker Martin Romualdez wanted her dead, alleging that she was the biggest threat to his political ambitions in the 2028 national elections.

"I have talked to someone. I told him that if I am killed, he should kill [Marcos], Liza Araneta and Martin Romualdez. No joke. I already left instructions," Duterte said in Filipino.

"If I am killed, I said, don't stop until you have killed them, and then he said 'yes,'" she added.

Duterte's outburst against the Marcos family was prompted by a House panel's decision to transfer Zuleika Lopez, the vice president's chief of staff, to a correctional facility in Mandaluyong.

Lopez was ordered detained at the lower chamber after she was cited in contempt for her supposed "undue interference" in the panel's investigation into the confidential funds of offices led by Duterte.

Duterte is facing the threat of impeachment in the House of Representatives, led by Marcos's cousin Romualdez, who is widely expected to run for president in 2028.

She has also had a messy falling out with the president's wife Liza Araneta-Marcos, who has accused her of laughing at a January event where her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, accused Marcos of being a drug addict.

Duterte called her late-night press conference after House officials said they would transfer her chief of staff — detained after being cited for contempt — from the lower chamber's detention center to a correctional facility.

Zuleika Lopez was detained on Wednesday after being accused of "undue interference" in House proceedings focused on Duterte's spending of public funds.

Duterte stepped down from the Cabinet post of education secretary in June as relations between the two families reached a breaking point.

Months earlier, her father had accused Marcos of being a drug addict, with the president the next day claiming his predecessor's health was failing due to long-term use of the powerful opioid fentanyl.

Neither provided evidence of their allegations.

In October, Duterte said she felt "used" after teaming with Marcos for the May 2022 election, which they won by a landslide.

Amid the heightened political tension, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) issued a statement emphasizing its commitment to professionalism, non-partisanship, and national unity.

In a statement, AFP chief of staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. underscored the role of the military as a cornerstone of national stability, vowing loyalty to the Constitution and the chain of command.

"The Armed Forces of the Philippines is a professional organization focused on its mandate to protect the people and the state," Brawner said.

Brawner called for calm and urged Filipinos to embrace values of respect and nationalism during what he described as "trying times."

He also warned against forces seeking to divide the country, emphasizing the need for unity.

Duterte's recent threats against the president and his family drew criticism from members of the administration and the opposition.

Former senator Leila de Lima on Saturday described Duterte's latest tirade as "political drama."

On the X social media platform, de Lima said Duterte is diverting attention away from issues regarding the confidential fund controversy involving the Office of the Vice President (OVP).

"What to do with a VP who openly threatens murder on a sitting president and his wife in a mega meltdown? Under ordinary circumstances, impeachment. But more than the ordinary, this is political drama staged by the OVP to divert the issue from its plunder of confidential funds," de Lima wrote.

She also weighed in on the vice president spending the night in the office of her brother, Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo Duterte, just to check on her chief of staff, Zuleika Lopez.

"Raised on privilege, entitlement, and quasi-royalty in the Kingdom of Davao City, the siblings Sara and Paulo Duterte flouted the House [of Representatives]'s authority when the VP, after not being allowed to spend the night with her detained CoS (chief of staff), instead locked herself inside her brother's office until morning," de Lima said.

"The day after, Paolo asked the House to detain the COS in his office so Sara could stay with her without restrictions," she added.

Akbayan Rep. Percival Cendaña also condemned the vice president's "repulsive behavior."

"If she's raring and ready to pick a fight, then she should face the House panel and take her oath," Cendaña said.

"If she wants to stay in her brother's office, it's fine, as long as she attends the House committee hearing," he added.

The party-list lawmaker also hit at Duterte's idea of assassinating the top leaders of the country.

"Sara will only get worse if we let her get away with her threats without facing consequences. Just like her father [former president Rodrigo Duterte], she savors the brazen impunity which she enjoys by reason of her office or because we permit it through our inaction," he said.

Former interior secretary Benhur Abalos also said Duterte's demeanor was unacceptable.

"When did it become right or acceptable to threaten someone's life, whether directly or indirectly? Such language has no place in a peaceful, free, and humane country," he said in a Facebook post in Filipino on Saturday.WITH ARIC JOHN SY CUA, FRANCO JOSE C. BAROÑA, AFP