MANILA, Philippines — Stressing that it is better to focus on their personnel who were affected by Typhoon Carina, Philippine National Police chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil opted to ignore the tirades of Vice President Sara Duterte, who cried “political harassment” over the removal of 75 PNP members from her security detail.
Marbil’s stand on the issue was relayed yesterday by PNP public information officer Col. Jean Fajardo, who said that Marbil is busy attending to the needs of PNP personnel who were victims of Carina’s onslaught last week.
The PNP chief visited two police officers who were wounded in a shootout with a wanted fugitive in San Juan, Batangas on Sunday.
“He preferred to focus on the needs of our police and not to answer whatever issues our country is facing right now,” Fajardo said at a news briefing at Camp Crame.
“Our PNP chief himself appealed to us to do our police work and please spare the PNP organization from these political issues and noise,” she added.
In an open letter, Duterte called out Marbil for allegedly lying about the reasons for the removal of her police security escorts, particularly when the PNP chief said that there is no threat to the Vice President’s security.
Marbil cited the need to put more police officers on the streets as the reason for the need to recall some police officers who had been Duterte’s escorts.
Duterte revealed that PNP operatives have gone to the place where she and family reside for a “casing” or surveillance operation.
Sought for comment, Fajardo denied that the PNP is conducting such a surveillance on Duterte and her family.
The PNP official declined to comment on the other allegations that Duterte had enumerated in her letter.
“Whatever issues are contained in the letter of our Vice President, maybe it will be better for all of us and for the citizens to address it silently,” Fajardo said.
She added that the police officers who were recalled from Duterte’s security detail are doing well at the National Capital Region Police Office where they were reassigned.
The PNP earlier said a total of 106 PNP officers were assigned to Duterte. The figure does not include their counterparts in the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
Duterte’s predecessor, former vice president Leni Robredo, only had around 80 police and military personnel as her security detail, according to a former staffer.
Meanwhile, Fajardo clarified that they had already returned the PNP personnel assigned as escorts to Sen. Bong Go.
Fajardo said Go’s police escorts were earlier recalled in response to reports that some policemen were moonlighting as security to some VIPs.
“After they finished the refresher training, they were returned to the authorized individuals, including Sen. Bong Go,” Fajardo said.
Go earlier revealed that the PNP had removed his security detail much earlier that that of Duterte.
As vice chair of the Senate committee on public order and dangerous drugs and as a citizen, Go emphasized the need for the PNP to maintain professionalism and integrity, especially in light of the recent controversies surrounding the withdrawal of security details for high-ranking officials, including himself and Duterte.
“I said (VP Sara Duterte) is not alone. What I mean here is that if there is a need to secure her, we have citizens who are willing to do so, like us. Secondly, she’s not alone because I was the first one to have my security detail removed, I was even ahead of her. You know, perhaps, it was about three weeks ago,” Go explained.
Protection
In the wake of the PNP’s decision to pull out 75 members of her security detail, Duterte yesterday appealed for protection for her family.
A day after some senators voiced their support for Duterte following the pullout of Police Security and Protection Group personnel from her detail, the Vice President said she wants nothing but her family’s safety.
“I have only one request from you: the safety of my family. Do not allow any violence to befall my mother, husband and four children, either in person or on the internet. And, in any case, do not turn a blind eye to anyone who would do harm against them,” Duterte said in a statement.
The Vice President has three children with lawyer Manases Carpio. Their family left for Munich, Germany last week, at the height of Carina’s onslaught, for a pre-scheduled vacation and to meet relatives of her mother Elizabeth Zimmerman, the ex-wife of former president Rodrigo Duterte.
While it was still unclear how many security personnel remains in her detail, the Commission on Audit (COA) last year said 433 people served as part of Duterte’s Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group (VPSPG) in 2022, a 455 percent increase from the 78 personnel under the Office of the Vice President (OVP) in 2021, or Robredo’s last full term.
It was not specified in the audit report, however, whether all of the 433 individuals in the VPSPG in 2022 were assigned by the PNP or the AFP or hired by the OVP.
In 2022, the AFP announced the activation of the VPSPG as a “dedicated unit” for the security and protection of Duterte and her family.
Sara’s safety
Amid these developments, the Presidential Security Command (PSC) yesterday assured Duterte of her safety following the removal of 75 policemen from her security detail.
“The PSC remains to be a professional and mission-oriented AFP unit committed to accomplishing its new task of securing the Vice President. We will accomplish that mission,” PSC chief Maj. Gen. Nelson Morales said in a statement.
“The PSG was reorganized into a command from a group. It was renamed to Presidential Security Command. The VPSPG is now a sub-unit of the PSC,” Morales added.
The PSC is a unit under the AFP mandated to provide protection escort for the President, Vice President and their immediate families, as well as honor guard duties for visiting dignitaries.
In 2022, the AFP activated the VPSPG before Duterte became the second highest official of the land.
Morales’ statement came a day after Duterte branded the recall of 75 police personnel as a “clear case of political harassment.”
After Duterte complained about the removal of the security personnel assigned to her, senators allied with her father called on former and retired police and military personnel and rebel returnees to volunteer to provide security without pay to protect the Vice President.
Sen. Ronald dela Rosa, the elder Duterte’s first PNP chief, posted his call on his personal Facebook account calling former PNP and AFP members to secure the Vice President. — Edith Regalado, Neil Jayson Servallos, Helen Flores, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Delon Porcalla
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