AFP keeping Sara safe despite ‘trust issues’

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Thursday maintained it will continue to perform its mandate to provide security to Vice President Sara Duterte despite her recent pronouncement that she will not accept replacements to her security detail from the military, citing trust issues.

In a media briefing at Camp Aguinaldo, AFP spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla said the military will remain professional in ensuring the “safety and the dignity of the President, the Vice President, and other dignitaries.”

“For the AFP, it is our mandate to secure our President and also our Vice President. It is our mission at the Presidential Security Command to protect the President, the Vice President, and other dignitaries from harm and embarrassment, and with this mission — we have to fulfill it to the letter,” Padilla said in response to a reporter’s question.

The House of Representatives is investigating Duterte’s alleged misuse of the confidential funds of her offices. The names of Duterte’s security detail in the Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group (VPSPG) — Col. Raymund Lachica and Col. Dennis Nolasco — were repeatedly mentioned in the House hearing.

In one hearing, special disbursing officer Gina Acosta confirmed that she authorized the release of P125 million in confidential funds to Lachica, the VPSPG commander and the security officer for the Office of the Vice President, on 20 December 2022.

Likewise, Edward Fajarda, the disbursing officer for the Department of Education (DepEd), confirmed that he transferred P37.5 million of the agency’s secret funds for the first quarter of 2023 to Nolasco, who was the DepEd’s designated security officer at the time.

This was followed by the filing by the Philippine National Police of a formal complaint against Duterte and her security detail over confrontations between the Vice President’s guards and police officers at the House of Representatives detention center and the Veterans Memorial Medical Center last month.

‘No replacements’

Due to the possible cases against the VPSPG officers, AFP Chief of Staff General Romeo Brawner Jr. disclosed a plan to recall some of Duterte’s security personnel and temporarily replace them with personnel from the military and the police force.

Duterte, in a press conference on Wednesday, said she had written a letter to Brawner telling him she would not accept any replacements for those who will be recalled.

The Vice President said she would outsource her security to private security services, citing an alleged threat to her life.

Despite this, Padilla said the AFP will still ensure that Duterte ’s security won’t be compromised.

“Speaking on behalf of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, we will continue to perform our mandate accordingly, the AFP will provide security accordingly,” the military spokesperson said.

“We will make sure the security of the Vice President will not be compromised,” she added.

Padilla said they had yet to see the contents of Duterte’s letter to Brawner.

“So we will not be divulging operational details on how this will ensue but we are ensuring that we will fulfill our mandate accordingly to protect our top leaders accordingly,” she added.

Padilla said “there’s no finality yet” on the replacement of the VPSPG officers and they were still on active duty securing Duterte.

Clear, unwavering

“This is an ongoing process. We’re still waiting for the issuance of orders and it’s a process that has to go through,” she noted.

“When we speak of the Vice Presidential Security, it’s under the Presidential Security Command, which is an AFP unit. So the process — it will be bottom-up or from higher headquarters going to their level. So we will follow the process in issuing orders,” she said.

Padilla stressed the AFP’s mission is “clear” and the military’s resolve is “unwavering” amid the political disturbances.

“Our leaders are our top priority. So amid all of this noise of politics, we remain silent but ready to defend [and] the AFP upholds our non-partisanship to ensure our full focus on national security,” she said.

Padilla said the unity of soldiers and citizens “outweighs the division caused by politics.”

“Our allegiance lies not within colors, but within the nation. The AFP is committed to defending the sovereignty of our country. We stand not on the left nor on the right. We stand for the Filipino people,” she said.