Vice President Sara Duterte has a rallying call to her supporters: protect her family—mother, husband, and four children—against attacks in-person and online.
Vice President Sara Duterte
Duterte said this in a statement released on Tuesday, July 30, to thank Senators Ronald Dela Rosa, Bong Go, and Robin Padilla for urging supporters to volunteer to protect her.
However, she assured that she’ll be fine by herself and that there was no need to raise funds for her security.
“Ang pagtatrabaho sa pamahalaan ay pag-alay ng buhay para sa bayan. Alam nating lahat na bahagi ito ng serbisyo (Working in government is offering one’s life for the country. We all know this is part of service),” she said.
“Isa lang ang hiling ko sa inyo — ang kaligtasan ng aking pamilya. Huwag ninyong payagan ang anumang karahasan sa aking ina, asawa at apat na anak, personal man o sa internet (I ask one thing from you—the safety of my family. Don’t allow violence on my mother, husband, and four children, personal or on the internet).”
“At kung sakali man, huwag ninyong palampasin ang sinumang gagawa ng kapahamakan laban sa kanila (And if ever, don’t let anyone who will harm them off the hook),” she added.
On Monday, July 29, Dela Rosa, a long-time ally of the Duterte family, appealed to former Philippine National Police (PNP), Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) “who are good at unarmed combat & volunteering” to provide “security and protection” to Duterte.
Padilla chimed in and called on former rebels who have the necessary amnesty papers to volunteer to protect the Vice President, while Go said he was also stripped off his security detail three weeks ago.
Last week, 75 PNP personnel from the Vice President’s security detailed were recalled and reassigned to various areas in the National Capital Region (NCR).
PNP chief Rommel Marbil said that it was done to augment police personnel in the NCR, but Duterte called it “political harassment” and said she felt threatened for her family when their video footage at the Ninoy Aquino International AirPort (NAIA) Terminal 3 was released to the public.