Vice President Sara, family fly to Germany

MANILA, Philippines —  As the Philippines grapples with the devastation caused by Typhoon Carina and monsoon rains, Vice President Sara Duterte and her family left the country for Germany.

Duterte, along with her mother Elizabeth Zimmerman, husband Mans Carpio and three children, yesterday left the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 on an Emirates flight bound for Dubai to Munich, Germany.

“The trip to Germany was long planned and booked. It was not a spur-of-the moment decision to take a vacation. Instead, the family took what was planned and booked before,” a source in the Office of the Vice President said.

They will visit some relatives on Zimmerman’s side of the family.

Zimmerman, the first wife of former president Rodrigo Duterte, was a flight attendant of German descent.

The Vice President did not watch the live broadcast of President Marcos’ third State of the Nation Address on July 22.

On July 11, Duterte said she would not attend the SONA and appointed herself a “designated survivor,” a remark construed as a threat by some lawmakers.

In the US, the designated survivor role is assigned to a Cabinet official who must sit out the president’s State of the Union Address to ensure continuity of leadership in case the president and all constitutional successors are killed or incapacitated in a terrorist attack or catastrophic event.

The Philippine National Police earlier stripped Duterte of her security personnel.

PNP chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil yesterday said that 31 policemen and seven officials remain in Duterte’s security detail.

Duterte on Tuesday revealed that 75 personnel of the Police Security and Protection Group (PSPG) assigned to the Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group were relieved of duty without prior notice.

Marbil said the security provided to Duterte will not change as the Vice President can still request the PNP for an augmentation when she visits parts of the country.

A total of 106 police officers were assigned to protect Duterte, Marbil noted.

In 2022, Duterte had 433 security personnel, a 455 percent increase from the 78 personnel in 2021 or the last full term of then vice president Leni Robredo, according to the Commission on Audit.

Personnel removed from Duterte’s security detail were reassigned to the National Capital Region Police Office, Marbil said.

The reason for their removal is to add more personnel on the ground in Metro Manila, he said.

Marbil said they have reassigned around 640 police officers to Metro Manila, 225 of which were from the PSPG. - Edith Regalado, Emmanuel Tupas