In a telling instance that showed where their personal loyalty lies, allies of Vice President Sara Duterte on Monday turned the Senate probe on the Philippine National Police’s failure to arrest fugitive pastor Apollo Quiboloy—wanted for human trafficking and child abuse, among others—into a venue to lobby for the reinstatement of Duterte’s full security detail.
Saying that more law enforcers on the ground would “support field operations more effectively and address other critical policing needs,” PNP chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil on July 22 pulled out 75 of the Vice President’s police escorts, leaving her with 389 bodyguards, most of whom are from the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
Despite that huge number, Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, former PNP chief of the Duterte administration, pressed Marbil to return the police escorts “even if not the same number,” but at least “the cops from Davao … to give (VP Duterte) her peace of mind.” Faced with such public pressure, Marbil yielded.
The pressure escalated last week when Duterte sent a blistering open letter to the PNP chief, slamming the pullout of her bodyguards as “political harassment,” and saying that their relief “came after I resigned from DepEd, after I compared the Sona to a catastrophic event, and after the cocaine video [of the President] came out.”
Silent and noncommittal
Marbil, however, pointed out that there was “no threat” against the Vice President who has, after all, remained cautiously silent and noncommittal on high-stakes issues, among them the ongoing raids on illegal Philippine offshore gaming operator hubs, the worsening dispute with China over the West Philippine Sea (WPS), and the continued unsuccessful pursuit of Quiboloy, a firm ally of her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte.
In contrast to her seeming indifference to such national security concerns comes her belligerent defense of her personal security whose number, according to Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, is “bigger than the President’s,” and those of her predecessors.
In fact, the Commission on Audit in its 2022 assessment of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) noted that Duterte’s bodyguards numbered 433, a 455-percent increase from the 78 security escorts previously assigned to former vice president Leni Robredo. The number also represents 63 percent or six out of 10 of Duterte’s OVP staff, leading one to wonder if, with more bodyguards than working personnel, how much real work could possibly be done? But why the need for so many security escorts? What is Duterte afraid of?
The Department of Budget and Management meanwhile placed the cost of the security detail at P25.308 million in 2023, with the military and uniformed personnel reportedly getting some P50,000 a month each.
Priority and proportion
But more than the humongous amount poured into one office that might have found better use in other areas—sports development, to hear the latest clamor—is the question of priority and proportion.
As Marbil explained, rationalizing the deployment of police personnel was meant to move the PNP “closer to the ideal ratio of one cop for every 500 citizens.” Turning that number around to 500:1, meaning almost 500 personnel for one VIP, is how disproportionate—and alarming—the current situation is. The 75 police aides withdrawn from Duterte’s security detail have been redeployed to the National Capital Region Police Office, Marbil said. “The adjustments in security personnel reflect our commitment to adapting to current security needs while also adhering to directives that enhance overall police efficiency,’’ he said.
And rightly so. While giving attention to high-security threats to top government officials is part of its job, isn’t the police obliged as well to provide protection to other citizens, no matter their station in life? It is the police mandate, after all, to maintain peace and order in the community, mainly through visibility on the ground and accessibility when crime occurs.
Vice President’s tantrum
And why not the same beefed up security for the Philippine Coast Guard and the Philippine Navy amid China’s aggressive maneuvers in the WPS?
Duterte ally Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go, vice chair of the Senate committee on public order, himself urged the police to stay true to their sworn duty and not allow themselves to be used for any political agenda.
“My advice to the police is to always be professional and just do what is right—protect the lives of every Filipino and perform your duties in accordance with the law,” Go said.
Ironically, wasn’t that exactly what the police were doing when they attempted to serve the arrest warrants on the renegade pastor of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ sect? Despite the PNP swearing that they followed protocols and maximum tolerance, they are now facing Senate scrutiny. That is, before the hearing was diverted to the issue of security escorts, which was precipitated by the Vice President’s tantrum last week. Now that Duterte’s bodyguards have been reinstated, maybe her Senate allies can now buckle down to their real job?