Vice President Sara Duterte announced that the Philippine National Police (PNP) has removed all 75 members of the PNP Police and Security Group assigned to her security detail. The order was issued by PNP Chief Police General Rommel Marbil on Monday, July 22.
In her statement, Duterte assured that this directive would not hinder her duties in the Office of the Vice President. She expressed hope that the PNP’s focus on internal reorganization would lead to a decrease in drug proliferation and criminal activities in the country.
“I do hope, however, that with this latest directive of the Chief PNP, we hear less cries from the people regarding the proliferation of drugs in the country, and that even fewer shall fall victim to various criminal activities,” Duterte stated.
She added, “Tuloy-tuloy pa rin ang ating trabaho upang makapaghatid tayo ng serbisyo sa ating mga kababayan — lalong-lalo na sa mga liblib o underserved communities sa ating bansa.” (Our work will continue so we can deliver service to our countrymen, especially to the remote or underserved communities in the country.)
PNP Chief Marbil confirmed the reduction, noting that the Vice President’s security detail now falls under the jurisdiction of the Presidential Security Command. This reallocation aims to address personnel shortages, particularly in the National Capital Region (NCR).
“What we’re doing right now, especially sa NCR na kulang kulang ang mga tao natin, we have to ano… nagbawas po kami ng mga tao na hindi naman nila kailangan,” Marbil explained. (What we’re doing right now, especially in the NCR where our people are not enough, we have to get our people who are not needed by others.)