Snowballed

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. said he has no intention of taking over the Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group (VPSPG) because it is still under the Presidential Security Command. This was after Col. Raymund Lachica and his men received a subpoena from the Philippine National Police. This may have something to do with VP Sara Duterte's threat to the lives of President Bongbong Marcos Jr., Liza Araneta Marcos, and Speaker Martin Romuladez if she is the first to be killed.

Col. Lachica is also facing a complaint from the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) due to the incident where Lachica physically assaulted QCPD Medical and Dental Unit chief Lt. Col. Jason Villamor when Office of the Vice President (OVP) chief of staff Zuleika Lopez was being transferred from the Veterans Memorial Medical Center to St. Luke's Medical Center in Quezon City. VP Duterte and other VPSPG personnel are included in the complaint. Bloated egos everywhere.

Brawner does not yet know how many PNP and AFP personnel will be replaced from the VPSPG. It is still under study. He is careful that nothing is read into his actions. The VPSPG is composed of personnel from the PNP and AFP. There are 350 of the VPSPG. That's how many people are watching and protecting the vice president and yet she states there is a threat to her life.

According to former senator Antonio Trillanes IV, high-ranking officials of the AFP are firmly behind President Marcos, but the administration should not be complacent. This is after former president Rodrigo Duterte recently said only the military can fix a “fractured government”. This is not the first time that Rodrigo Duterte has called on the military to remove the current administration. So Trillanes is right in warning the government not to be complacent about the current situation since Duterte still has some supporters in the military.

All of this is the result of an investigation into how the confidential and intelligence funds (CIF) of the OVP were spent. The issues have snowballed into recorded death threats, contempt charges, hospitalizations, physical assaults, and calls for the military to intervene. We may never know how the OVP spent their CIF unless there is enough political will to do so. And who knows how this political drama will unfold in the coming days.