Former lawmaker Barry Gutierrez can’t help but compare Vice President Sara Duterte to his former boss, ex-vice president Leni Robredo, over their reactions to the pull out of police personnel from their respective security details.
(From left) Vice President Sara Duterte and former vice president Leni Robredo (OVP photos)
Gutierrez said in an online media interview on Tuesday, July 30, that Robredo never once complained about how her rotating security detail went down to just 78 in 2022 from 108 in 2016.
“Eh kami, never kami nagreklamo sa anim na taon na binawasan, tinanggalan ng personnel, kasi nga ‘di naman namin iniisip na kailangan niya ng ganoon kadaming tao (We never complained in the six years that our personnel were reduced because we didn’t even think that she needed that many people),” he stressed.
The former vice presidential spokesperson also added that Robredo felt that having that many security personnel prevented people from going near her.
Many times, Gutierrez recalled, Robredo’s security detail had to adjust their arrangements because of the former official’s preference of taking the public bus to her hometown of Naga City.
He claimed that Duterte’s reaction seemed to be a cover up to the fact that she was on a personal trip to Germany while the country was being battered by the enhanced southwest monsoon and Super Typhoon Carina.
The former lawmaker questioned the Vice President for making a big fuss out of the recall of 75 of her police escorts when there are bigger issues that need to be addressed.
“Pero siya parang hindi dapat issue pero talagang pinagbuhusan ng panahon at ng oras na gumawa ng isang sulat habang walang imik tungkol do’n sa issue kung saan ninahanap siya ng lahat ng tao last week, ‘yong kanyang pagkawala sa kasagsagan ng Carina, at ‘yong mga kwentong lumalabas na siya ay ‘yon nga nasa Germany for a personal trip na sinasabi nag-attend nga raw ng Taylor Swift concert (It shouldn’t be an issue but she spent time writing a letter while not saying anything about the issue of people looking for her last week, the fact that she wasn’t here while Carina was ravaging, and the stories that came out that she’s in Germany for a personal trip and allegedly attended the Taylor Swift concert),” Gutierrez said.
“Ewan ko, baka nga totoo na umiiwas lang na sagutin ‘yon kaya ginagawang issue ito (I don’t know, maybe it’s true that she’s just avoiding those so she turned this into an issue),” he added.
On Monday, July 29, Duterte wrote an open letter to Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Rommel Marbil, alleging that the pull out of 75 PNP personnel from her security detail was a form of “political harassment.”
Duterte also said she felt threatened for her family, who was with her in the video footage released while they were at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3.
Although she claimed to be okay with the relief of some of her security personnel, the Vice President questioned the timing of the order and the reason given by Marbil that they needed to be reassigned to the National Capital Region (NCR).
“So nagulat lang ako na hindi lang ginawang issue ‘yong 75 na tinanggal, umabot pa talaga sa open letter sa PNP chief. Eh hinahanap nga siya no’ng bagyo eh. Supposedly nagpunta siya sa Germany at nag-concert (So, I was surprised that relief of the 75 personnel wasn’t just made into an issue, it went so far as to write an open letter to the PNP chief. Her whereabouts were being questioned during the typhoon. Supposedly she went to Germany to attend a concert),” the former spokesperson of Robredo said.
“Hindi siya nagsalita tungkol sa bagyo, pero nagsalita siya tungkol sa pagkakatanggal no’ng 75 na members ng security detail niya (She didn’t speak about the typhoon, but she spoke about the relief of the 75 members of her security detail),” he added.