Senator Ronald Dela Rosa made an appeal to Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Rommel Francisco Marbil on Monday to return the Davao policemen as security escorts of Vice President Sara Duterte.
“I am appealing not as chairman of this committee. Just treat me as an ordinary people who want to protect the Vice President,” Dela Rosa said.
While he has nothing against the trimming down of the security escorts of the Vice President, Dela Rosa said he merely wanted Duterte to be properly secured and protected.
“Can you please give the Vice President the freedom to choose her own police escorts?” Dela Rosa asked Marbil at the start of the Senate hearing into the alleged use of excessive force by policemen during a raid at the Kingdome of Jesus Christ (KJOC) to serve Pastor Apollo Quiboloy’s warrant of arrest.
Dela Rosa noted that Duterte does not know the 31 policemen left to secure her.
Marbil said the Vice President was stripped of her 75 police escorts, which included her trusted Davao policemen.
Since they see no threats on the life of the Vice President, Marbil said they opted to remove some of her police escorts who were deployed on the ground.
This is also part of the PNP rationalization on deployment of policemen.
Marbil further stated that the Vice President also has 358 military escorts.
But Dela Rosa quizzed the PNP chief if he doesn’t see the Vice President’s strong stand against the CPP-NPA could trigger a threat on her life.
He also considered the position of a Vice President a maximum high threat.
Dela Rosa, also a former PNP chief, emphasized that the Vice President could have “peace of mind” if there are Davao policemen around her.
“These policemen will not run away from her in case of danger. They are ready to fight and die for her,” assured Dela Rosa.
These Davao policemen who were removed as police escorts of the Vice President, Dela Rosa said, were with them for a long time.
Marbil also denied there was politics in the removal of the escorts of the Vice President since PNP has also recalled the police escorts of other VIP personnel.
