Sara Duterte Turned Down PNP Security Offer, Says Remulla
SARA DUTERTE – A security offer from the Philippine National Police was reportedly turned down by Vice President Sara Duterte, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla revealed.
Vice President Sara Duterte reportedly turned down an offer from the Philippine National Police (PNP) to provide her with additional security, according to Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla.
During a press briefing at Camp Crame on Monday, Remulla said the police had extended an offer to protect Duterte through the Police Security and Protection Group (PSPG), a PNP unit tasked with providing security assistance to government officials.
“Kung wala siyang tiwala [sa amin], that is her prerogative,” Remulla said in a press briefing in Camp Crame on Monday.
“We did offer [her protection] sa PSPG (Police Security and Protection Group), but ayaw niya,” he noted.
Remulla explained that Duterte did not give a specific reason for rejecting the security arrangement. The Inquirer also reached out to Duterte’s legal representatives, Michael Poa and Paul Lawrence Lim, for their response, but no comment had been received at the time of reporting.
The issue surfaced after Duterte posted bail at the Quezon City Regional Trial Court last Saturday. During the proceedings, the Vice President said she “[does] not feel safe” and expressed a lack of confidence in the PNP. She also raised concerns involving alleged surveillance and what she described as harassment directed toward members of her family.
Remulla rejected the accusations against the police, emphasizing that Duterte already has a significant security contingent assigned to her.
“Bakit pa namin i-surveillance for her security?” he said. “She has 400 security agents… That’s more than the president has at any given time. So, confident kami na walang mangyayari sa kanya.”
Duterte is currently facing a grave threats complaint stemming from remarks she allegedly made in November 2024. She was accused of saying that she had hired an assassin to target President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and then-House Speaker Martin Romualdez should she be killed.
PNP chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. also confirmed that the police had offered security to the Vice President. He recalled that security personnel assigned to the Vice President Security and Protection Group (VPSPG) were recalled during his tenure as NCRPO chief in 2024.
“Inaccount lang naman,” Nartatez explained.
“When they were asked to go back ay hindi na tinanggap, so we retained these security personnel at the PSPG. It’s recorded,” he added.
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