Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte said Saturday she has contracted an assassin to kill the president, his wife and the House of Representatives speaker if she herself is killed, in a brazen public threat that she warned was not a joke. Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin referred the active threat against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr to an elite presidential guards force for immediate proper action. It was not immediately clear what actions would be taken against the vice president. "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, a government statement 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 said. Marcos ran with Duterte as