EDITORIAL - Protection for all

Local government officials and lawmakers are asking for additional security following the latest attack targeting a politician, Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo. Security officials have said bodyguards can be assigned to those with credible threats.

Nearly all politicians in this country, however, have rivals ready to resort to armed violence in their power struggles. And many incumbent politicians already have security teams not only for their personal protection but also for their spouses, children and favored supporters.

If the government grants the politicians’ wish, the Philippine National Police and Armed Forces of the Philippines could see the majority of their personnel assigned to bodyguard duty, depriving the general population of the right to safety. Most of these politicians can afford to pay for their private security. Why should taxpayers, already burdened with so many expenses, foot the bill?

The better response, amid the rising armed violence, is to improve the overall peace and order situation, so that everyone in this country will feel safe. Politicians aren’t the only ones targeted by armed threat groups. Environmental advocates, legal professionals and journalists are murdered with impunity, with most of the killings unsolved.

Even Negros Oriental Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr., who faces three counts of murder for killings in 2019, wants his security detail and gun licenses restored. The Teves clan is the principal rival of the Degamos. The congressman’s brother Pryde Henry was initially proclaimed as winner of the race for Negros Oriental governor last year. But the Commission on Elections, acting on an electoral protest filed by Degamo and a decision of the Supreme Court, unseated Teves and installed Degamo. Congressman Teves has denied involvement in Degamo’s murder.

In March last year, Teves’ son Kurt Matthew was shown in a viral video beating up a security guard at BF Homes Parañaque while his bodyguards looked on, for preventing his entrance to the subdivision without the requisite vehicle sticker. Kurt Matthew later announced his resignation as provincial board member. Were his bodyguards paid for by taxpayers? Is a provincial board member entitled to bodyguards on the state’s payroll?

Instead of increasing the security details of politicians, the government should rationalize and drastically curb the practice of assigning police and military personnel to serve as bodyguards. These personnel often end up acting as private armies of their principals. As things stand, the country is so lacking in regular police and military personnel that civilians are recruited to serve as “force multipliers.” When it comes to personal safety, there can be no VIPs; everyone in this country deserves protection.