The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said Tuesday it has yet to receive any confirmation on the supposed threats against Vice President Sara Duterte.
Despite this, AFP spokesperson Colonel Francel Padilla said the military organization will perform its duty to protect the Vice President “no matter what.”
“As of this time wala pa po kaming confirmation on that, but I said, any po na statements that are given, we look into that,” Padilla said.
“We have specialized units to verify these things. So moving forward we’ll be performing our mandate accordingly of protecting her with all of our troops and assets in terms of providing security for the Vice President,” she added.
Duterte revealed the threats to her life during a late-night press conference on November 23.
Back then, said she ordered someone to kill President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and House Speaker Martin Romualdez, if an alleged plot against her succeeds.
In response to this, AFP public affairs office chief Colonel Xerxes Trinidad said that investigation is ongoing on the matter.
“I think there’s an ongoing investigation coming from the different…the Armed Forces of the Philippines will be cooperating and would like to wait out for any development from that part,” he said.
Padilla also refrained from commenting on the kill remark against the President so as not to preempt the investigation.
Duterte had clarified that her statement was not a threat, saying she only highlighted the alleged threat to her security. She also said that her remark was “taken out of logical context.”
Authorities, however, have considered the Vice President’s remarks as a threat to the President and a matter of national security.
On Monday, advocacy groups officially filed the impeachment complaint against Duterte and was endorsed by Akbayan Party-list Rep. Perci Cendaña to the House of Representatives.
When it comes to the alleged threat to her life, both the Philippine National Police (PNP) and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said that they did not receive any information about the matter.
The AFP announced last Wednesday that the Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group (VPSPG) would be temporarily replaced with new military and police personnel to ensure effective security for Duterte. —AOL, GMA Integrated News
