The Armed Forces of the Philippines said it has not received any confirmation on the supposed threats against Vice President Sara Duterte.
Duterte earlier disclosed she contacted someone to kill President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and Speaker Martin Romualdez should something happen to her.
But when authorities began investigating her “kill” remark for possible violations of existing laws, including the Anti-Terrorism Act, Duterte clarified it was “not an active threat” and that she was only highlighting how threats to her own person have been ignored.
“As of this time, we have no confirmation on (the supposed threats), but as I said, any statements that are given, we look into those,” AFP spokesperson Col. Francel Padilla.
“We have specialized units to verify these things. So moving forward, we’ll be performing our mandate of protecting her with all of our troops and assets in terms of providing security for the Vice President,” she added.
On Monday, the Philippine National Police said they have yet to see any information on the supposed documented threats against the Vice President.
“Our Vice President is saying that she has documented threats…We have not been given a copy of (those) documented threats,” PNP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo said.
She said the PNP is presuming that the Presidential Security Command has been provided a copy of the said documented threat as it has direct authority when it comes to the security of the President and the Vice President.
Fajardo said more criminal charges will also likely be filed against Duterte, her security personnel and other staff in connection with the Nov. 23 incident at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City.
“We expect that there will be more cases that will be filed aside from grave coercion, direct assault and disobedience to persons in authority,” Fajardo said without giving details.
Last week, the Quezon City Police District filed charges for direct assault, disobedience to authority and grave coercion against Duterte and three others following the confrontation with police officers who secured the transfer of her chief of staff, OVP Undersecretary Zuleika Lopez.
Fajardo likewise confirmed that Duterte has a License To Own and Possess Firearms (LTOPF) and Firearm Registration (FR) but does not have a Permit To Carry Firearms Outside of Residence (PTCFOR).
“Let us wait for the completion of the investigation being conducted by the CIDG (Criminal Investigation and Detection Group) to determine whether or not these cases filed against can be used as grounds for possible revocation or cancellation of her LTOFP and firearms registration,” she said.
