Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte failed to appear on Wednesday for questioning over allegedly plotting to assassinate President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Ms Duterte was an influential ally of Mr Marcos until the pair had a falling out earlier this year.
She was subpoenaed after a November 23 press conference where she claimed to have told someone to kill Mr Marcos should an alleged threat against her own life be carried out — comments she later said were misinterpreted.
She later denied making a death threat and said her comments were an expression of "consternation" with the Marcos administration's failures.
Lunch with journalists
Instead of meeting with government investigators, Ms Duterte hosted a thanksgiving lunch for several journalists at her office, where she accused the government of plotting to have her removed from office and charged in court.
"I do not believe that the investigation will be impartial," Ms Duterte told reporters.
"The worst-case scenario that we're seeing is [my] removal from office, impeachment, and then layer upon layer of cases."
Two political parties formally asked the House of Representatives two weeks ago to remove her from office through impeachment.
But, the Filipino president said he had urged the house not to impeach her as such an attempt would be pointless.
When asked about the vice-president, the National Bureau of Investigation director Jaime Santiago said Ms Duterte's no-show was "not justifiable" if it was because of a Christmas party.
"If you are accused of something and you don't respond, your silence condemns you," he said.
The relationship between Mr Marcos and Ms Duterte contrasts to two years ago, when their two families joined forces to sweep a presidential election.
Ms Duterte had initially led opinion polls on preferred presidential candidates, but opted to run alongside Mr Marcos rather than against him.
AFP/Reuters
