VP Sara on cop-to-people ratio: Shortage can’t be solved in our lifetime

Vice President and then Former Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte appeals to Davao City residents to report to authorities anyone they see displaying or sporting the insignia of the Islamic State as security measures are heightened in the home city of Former President Rodrigo Duterte following the declaration of martial law in Mindanao. — File photo courtesy of DAVAO CITY INFORMATION OFFICE

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte on Wednesday said the issue of police-to-population ratio in the country can not be solved “during our lifetime.”

Duterte made this remark as the Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Rommel Marbil ordered the reassignment of her 75 security detail to Metro Manila, citing a shortage of police personnel there.

“The shortage is a figure that cannot be solved during our lifetime due to the annually ballooning population and lack of budgetary resources to hire more personnel,” Duterte said in a statement.

The vice president also criticized lawmakers who justified the removal of her police personnel for not understanding the “real cause” of shortage in the country.

“The country should have representatives who understand that, in order to fully address the shortage, there is a need to leverage available technology and leapfrog into the future where policemen are armed with the best security products that do not require their physical presence all the time,” she also said.

READ: Sara Duterte’s PNP security reduced as no threat seen on VP – Marbil

Meanwhile, Duterte thanked the six “Muslim tribes” in Davao City who offered security for her and her family.

Before this, Duterte released an open letter to PNP chief Gen. Rommel Marbil, calling the removal of 75 police security escorts a “clear case of political harassment.”

Duterte also claimed that Marbil was lying when he said that the withdrawal of her police protection detail was due to the PNP being short-staffed.

She recalled that the removal of the police officers from her security force happened when she resigned from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s cabinet.