MANILA – Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio lambasted Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Police General Rommel Francisco Marbil following his order to relief the 75 cops assigned to her security detail.
In a statement on Monday, Duterte-Carpio called out Marbil for lying to the public with his alibi regarding the removal of the PNP Police Security and Protection Group (PSPG) personnel assigned to her.
The Vice President added the removal of her security detail came after she resigned as secretary of the Department of Education (DepEd) and the release of the video supposedly showing President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. using illegal drugs.
“Ang relief ng mga PNP personnel ay dumating pagkatapos ko mag-resign sa DepEd, pagkatapos ko inihambing ang SONA sa isang catastrophic event, at pagkatapos lumabas ang cocaine video,” Duterte-Carpio said.
“Let us spare our people from all the lies. Let us call it what it is — a clear case of political harassment,” the Vice President added. “It was obviously a targeted list and a targeted maneuver — nothing else.”
Duterte-Carpio also said that included in the relief order were the PNP personnel who have her “trust and confidence” because some of them are in the security of former President Rodrigo Duterte since 2016, and others have been in her own security since 2007.
“Kung talagang wala kang nakikitang banta laban sa akin, 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,” she said.
“Batas ka lang, hindi ka Diyos. At laging tandaan para hindi magkabuhol-buhol ang kwento mo, lagging magsasabi ng totoo,” Duterte-Carpio further said.
Duterte-Carpio announced on Tuesday last week that 75 PSPG assigned to her security detail were taken away by the order of Marbil issued on July 22.
Marbil, however, clarified that the order was to rationalize the deployment of PSPG personnel, prioritizing individuals identified with high-security threats.
Marbil further said that the order was based on a comprehensive threat assessment the PNP conducted, which identifies individuals and groups at the highest risk.
Despite this, Marbil said that the PNP continues to provide top-tier security services to Duterte-Carpio, noting that she “retains the most extensive security detail compared to her predecessors.”/PN
