Manila, July 9 -- Malacanang on Thursday rejected claims that Vice President Sara Duterte's alleged death threat against President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. was merely hypothetical, insisting the statement was real, deliberate, and admitted by Duterte herself.

Responding to arguments raised by Duterte's camp during the Senate impeachment trial, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said there was nothing speculative about the case because Duterte publicly declared she had instructed someone to kill the President, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former House of Representatives Speaker Martin Romualdez if something happened to her.

"Hindi po ito hypothetical, nakita po ito, hindi po ito gawa-gawang isip, hindi po ito pantasya (This is not...