Vice President Sara Duterte | PHOTO: Official Facebook apge of Inday Sara Duterte
MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte called the removal of her 75 police security as a “clear case of political harassment.”
In a four-page open letter posted on her official Facebook page, Duterte slammed Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Rommel Marbil for his alleged lies concerning the withdrawal of her police protection detail.
According to the Vice President, her PNP security was pulled out immediately after she resigned from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s Cabinet, her comment on his State of the Nation Address (Sona), and after a video showing Marcos allegedly using illegal drugs surfaced online.
READ: Sara Duterte: PNP pulls out 75 cops assigned for my security
“Ang relief ng mga PNP personnel ay dumating pagkatapos ko mag-resign sa DepEd (Department of Education), pagkatapos ko inihambing ang Sona sa isang catastrophic event, at pagkatapos lumabas ang cocaine video,” said Duterte.
(The relief of the PNP personnel came after I resigned from DepEd after I compared the Sona to a catastrophic event, and after the cocaine video came out.)
READ: Palace: Sara Duterte resigns as DepEd secretary
“Let us spare our people from all the lies. Let us call it what it is – a clear case of political harassment,” said Duterte.
Police security
In the same public letter, Duterte refuted several of PNP chief Marbil’s claims about the withdrawal of her police security, pointing out that no official request was made to the Office of the Vice President regarding the withdrawal of her security personal protection detail – contrary to Marbil’s assertions.
READ: Sara says she is a ‘designated survivor’, will skip Marcos’ SONA
She further noted that opposite to what Marbil said there was “no threat” against her, footage of her and her family leaving the country was publicized, and that police officers recently attempted to “case” her residence where her kids also 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?” Duterted asked.
READ: VP Sara Duterte slammed by lawmakers: She’s ‘no longer trustworthy’
(What does “threat” mean to you? Can the threat only come from external elements? Isn’t it a “threat” if the harassment comes from government personnel?)
She questioned why Marbil left 45 PNP personnel he personally selected for her if there was no threat against her. She then told Marbil to expect a letter about the return of the 45 police officers to the PNP.
“Tandaan mo, pagdating sa seguridad ng aking pamilya, ako ang magsasabi kung sino ang karapat-dapat, hindi ikaw. Batas ka lang, hindi ka Diyos.”
(Remember, when it comes to my family’s security, I get to say who is worthy, not you. You are just the law, not God.)
Relief order
She also contradicted Marbil’s statement that the vice president’s PNP security was removed for the sake of “police visibility,” underscoring that 38 of the 75 PNP personnel covered by the relief order were police officers from Mindanao being transferred to Metro Manila “as if there is no police shortage in Mindanao.”
“Kung kaya ninyong ilagay sa alanganin ang aking seguridad, nag-aalala ako sa uri ng harassment na kaya ninyong gawin sa karaniwang taumbayan — tulad nalang ng intimidation sa mga ordinaryong mamamayan para sa service ng warrant of arrest para kay Pastor Quiboloy sa Davao City kamakailan,” she further said.
(If you can put my security in jeopardy, I am worried about the kind of harassment you can do to the common people — just like the intimidation of ordinary citizens for the service of the arrest warrant for Pastor Quiboloy in Davao City recently.)