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.

Under the Philippine penal code, such public remarks may constitute a crime and can be punishable by a jail term and fine.

Security agencies in the Philippines have stepped up safety protocols after the country's vice president said she would have president assassinated if she herself were killed.