VP Sara requests protection amid PNP security pullout

MANILA, Philippines — In the wake of the Philippine National Police's decision to pull out 75 members of her security detail, Vice President Sara Duterte on Tuesday appealed for protection for her family.

A day after some senators voiced their support for Duterte following the pullout of Police Security and Protection Group personnel from her detail, the vice president said she wants nothing but her family’s safety.

“I have only one request from you: the safety of my family. Do not allow any violence to befall my mother, husband and four children, either in person or on the internet. And, in any case, do not turn a blind eye to anyone who would do harm against them,” Duterte said in a statement.

The vice president has three children with lawyer Manases Carpio. Their family left for Munich, Germany last week, at the height of Carina’s onslaught, for a pre-scheduled vacation and to meet relatives of her mother Elizabeth Zimmerman, the ex-wife of former president Rodrigo Duterte.

While it was still unclear how many security personnel remains in her detail, the Commission on Audit (COA) last year said 433 people served as part of Duterte’s Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group (VPSPG) in 2022, a 455% increase from the 78 personnel under the Office of the Vice President (OVP) in 2021, or Robredo’s last full term.

It was not specified in the audit report, however, whether all of the 433 individuals in the VPSPG in 2022 were assigned by the PNP or the Armed Forces of the Philippines or hired by the OVP.

In 2022, the AFP announced the activation of the VPSPG as a “dedicated unit” for the security and protection of Duterte and her family. — Edith Regalado, Neil Jayson Servallos, Helen Flores, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Delon Porcalla