DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 29 July) – Vice President Sara Duterte lashed at Philippine National Police (PNP) chief General Rommel Francisco Marbil for allegedly lying on the relief of her 75 security personnel, saying it was a “clear case of political harassment.”
In the five-page “Open Letter to Rommel Marbil” posted on her Facebook account on Monday, July 29, Duterte said that she had no problem with the relief of police personnel assigned to her “as she could work even without security.”
Duterte, however, said she could no longer stand Marbil’s apparent deception of the public involving her reduced security detail. As of posting, Marbil has yet to comment on Duterte’s pronouncement.
The vice president said the relief of her 75 security personnel came shortly after her resignation as Education Secretary, her comparison of the 3rd State of the Nation Address of the President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to a catastrophic event, and the release of the alleged video footage of the President snorting cocaine.
She denounced Marbil for relieving the 75 PNP personnel from her security team, saying she had “trust and confidence” in them as many were part of former President Rodrigo Duterte’s security personnel since 2016 or have been securing her since 2007 when she was elected as Davao City vice mayor.
“It was obviously a targeted list and a targeted maneuver — nothing else,” she said.
Of the 75 PNP personnel removed from her security detail, 38 are from Mindanao and reassigned to the National Capital Region “where there is a shortage of police officers and seems none in Mindanao,” the Vice President said.
Duterte also pointed out that the Vice Presidential Protection Division (VPPD) was created under the Police Security and Protection Group (PSPG) for the protection not only of the current vice president but also of the succeeding vice presidents of the country.
She said that the VPPD was created by the National Police Commission so that “people like you (Marbil) would not interfere with my security and the future vice presidents of the country.”
Duterte added that she was assigned her own security detail so that they would no longer have to pull out local police forces during her visits to the provinces.
In his media interviews, Marbil said the local police force augments Duterte’s security every time she visits the provinces.
Duterte said the PNP chief never requested for the pull out of her security personnel and their reassignment to the NCR where more police visibility is allegedly much needed.
“Sinabihan lamang ng PSPG ang OVP na kukunin nila ang mga personnel. Hindi na kami nakipagtalo dahil ikaw naman ang batas ‘di ba? Kasunod nito ay lumabas na ang relief orders sa utos mo. Ito ay base na rin sa dokumento ng PNP (The PSPG only told the OVP that they would remove the personnel. We didn’t argue anymore because you are the law, right? After this, you issued the relief orders. This is based on a PNP document),” Duterte said.
The Vice President also countered the claims of Marbil that there are no security threats to her, the reason for reducing her security detail.
“Kung talagang wala kang nakikitang banta laban sakin, bakit nagtira ka pa ng 45 na tauhan ng PNP na ikaw ang pumili? Tandaan mo, pagdating sa seguridad ng aking pamilya, ako ang magsasabi kung sino ang karapat-dapat, hindi ikaw. Batas ka lang, hindi ka Diyos (If you really see no threat against me, why did you leave 45 PNP personnel whom you selected? Remember, when it comes to my family’s security, I get to say who deserves it, not you. You are just the law, not God),” she said.
She said the release of a “malicious video footage” of her and her family at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport during their recent trip to Germany also exposed her family to threats.
Duterte said the footage was taken in a place where only airport employees and select people are allowed to enter.
She also claimed that some PNP personnel allegedly conducted a surveillance where she and her children lived.
“Ano ba ang ibig sabihin ng “threat” sa iyo? Ang banta ba ay maaari lamang magmula sa mga external elements? Hindi na ba “threat” kung ang harassment ay nanggagaling mismo sa mga tauhan ng gobyerno? (What does “threat” means to you? Can threats only come from external elements? Isn’t it a threat if the harassment comes from government personnel?)” she said. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)
