Vice President Sara Duterte —Inquirer photoI/Richard A. Reyes
MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte on Monday described the pullout of 75 police escorts from her 400-strong security detail as a “clear case of political harassment,” as she blasted the chief of the Philippine National Police for spreading “lies” about the personnel movement.
“Let us spare our people from all the lies. Let us call it what it is—a clear case of political harassment,” Duterte said in a scathing open letter to PNP chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil, whom she addressed only as “Rommel.”
The letter was posted on the official Facebook page of the Vice President, who is still in Germany with her family for a private engagement.
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In the four-page letter written mostly in Filipino, Duterte reiterated her assertion that she could still work even without the security provided by the PNP but added she could not bear the “lies being spread to our people.”
Among the five “lies” she accused Marbil of stating was when the PNP chief said the police organization “[didn’t] see any threat against the Vice President.”
Airport footage
Duterte pointed to the “malicious release” of video footage showing her with family members at Ninoy Aquino International Airport as they were leaving for Germany on July 24.
The trip elicited criticisms as it happened at the height of massive flooding in Metro Manila and other provinces due to Supertyphoon Carina (international name: Gaemi) and the southwest monsoon.
“It doesn’t matter if it was just me, but the video also captured and made public [the location] of my husband and my children, who are all minors, threatening their security,” she said.
Duterte said operatives of the PNP also performed a “casing” operation near her residence, purportedly to determine her exact address.
“If this wasn’t prevented by the officers of the homeowners’ association, I don’t know what else could have happened,” she said.
“What exactly does ‘threat’ mean to you? Are threats just coming from external elements? Isn’t it a ‘threat’ when the harassment would come from government officers themselves?” said Duterte.
She noted that the officers removed from her security detail were those she trusted the most, having secured her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, since 2016, or her since 2007.
“Remember, when it comes to my family’s security, I am the one who can say who are deserving, not you. You’re just the law; you’re not God,” she told the PNP chief.
Marbil, who attended a House inquiry on Monday, avoided reporters who tried to ask him about Duterte’s letter.
The PNP also did not immediately comment on the matter.
433 escorts
Last week, Marbil confirmed that 75 police escorts assigned to Duterte were transferred to increase police visibility in Metro Manila.
Since assuming office in 2022, Duterte has been under the protection of the Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group under the Presidential Security Command, which is mostly manned by the military and supplemented by a small PNP contingent. Based on a 2022 state audit report, Duterte had 433 security escorts.
Also on Monday, Sen. Ronald dela Rosa, a former PNP chief, posted a call on his personal Facebook page asking former police and military personnel to volunteer “to provide security and protection” to the Vice President. —with a report from Tina G. Santos