MANILA, Philippines — The Armed Forces of the Philippines has not received any confirmed reports that the life of Vice President Sara Duterte is in danger even as she has repeatedly claimed to be the subject of "threats."
"We don't have any confirmation on that. But I said that any statements given, we will look into that. We have specialized units to verify these things," AFP spokesperson Col. Francel Padilla said at a press conference on Tuesday, December 3.
Padilla added that the AFP was a "professional organization" that would provide the vice president with protection as part of its duty regardless of her reported refusal to accept the new military personnel assigned to her security detail.
"Moving forward, we'll be performing our mandate accordingly of protecting her with all of our troops and assets in terms of providing security for the vice president," the AFP spokesperson said.
In her controversial November 23 press conference, Duterte said an alleged plot to assassinate her had prompted her to contact a hitman to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and House Speaker Martin Romualdez if she is killed.
Duterte's remarks were taken as an "active threat" by the president's security team and treated as a national security concern by the National Security Council. Meanwhile, similar to her other previous remarks, the vice president has explained that her words — delivered through an impromptu midnight Zoom press conference — were taken out of their "logical context."
Duterte has since been summoned by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) over her remarks, with state investigators reviewing her potential violation of Article 282 of the Revised Penal Code, which pertains to grave threats. Duterte is also facing a potential violation of Republic Act 11479 or the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020.
The vice president again claimed that there were threats against her life in a press conference from Zamboanga last week. Here, Duterte accused the Philippine National Police (PNP) of shirking its duty by not investigating the threats against her person.
The PNP, through its spokesperson, said on Monday, December 2, that it has similarly not received any information on a "credible threat" against Duterte.
AFP chief Gen. Romeo Brawner confirmed on November 27 that Duterte's security detail will be temporarily replaced with new military and police personnel.
Brawner said the military personnel who will be summoned by the NBI will no longer be able to effectively fulfill their duty of protecting the vice president, which will require new troops to take their place.
Duterte said she does not "trust anyone right now" and will not accept any new security personnel assigned to her.
Padilla did not comment on Duterte's remarks. Instead, the AFP spokesperson said that the troops assigned to Duterte's security team "will be selected on merits" and will "be professional and loyal to the chain of command." — Cristina Chi