The Philippines' security council will verify an alleged assassination threat by Vice President Sara Duterte against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., a top official said on Sunday, describing it as a "matter of national security".

Philippines Vice President Sara Duterte said Saturday if she is killed, she has contracted an assassin to assassinate President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., his wife Liza Araneta-Marcos and House of Representatives Speaker Martin Romualdez.

The vice-president of the Philippines has hired a hitman to kill the country’s president, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, his wife and the speaker of the house, in the event she is assassinated.