Why is VP Sara's security team way bigger than VP Leni's? Solon offers explanation 

Former vice president Leni Robredo (left), incumbent Vice President Sara Duterte (MANILA BULLETIN)

Antipolo City 2nd district Rep. Romeo Acop says it's perfectly normal for different Vice Presidents to have some sort of disparity in terms of the number of their assigned security personnel. 

Acop, a retired Philippine National Police (PNP) brigadier general, gave this statement after he was recently asked about the huge variance between the security detail of incumbent Vice President Sara Duterte and her direct predecessor, Leni Robredo. 

Reports said that Vice President Duterte has over 300 security personnel protecting her. The figure is composed of both PNP and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) members. 

Robredo, on the other hand, reportedly had a security team of just 75. 

"Security personnel are provided because of their positions, hindi po ba (am I right)? And security personnel are also provided because of the threat assessment conducted by the 

authorities concerned," Acop saoi. 

"In the case of the VP, meron siya talagang official detail, kailangan because of her position as the VP (she really has security detail assigned, it's needed because of her position as the VP). 

"Now the number of the personnel which would be assigned to the VP would depend on the threat assessment conducted by the appropriate authorities. So kung iyong threat assessment ay imminent, mas marami po ang security niya (So if the threat assessment is imminent, then the security detail is bigger)," he explained. 

Asked if such variance was normal, Acop answered in the affirmative. 

"Kasi depende doon sa threat assessment niya eh whether malaki iyong possibility na meron talagang pagtatangka sa buhay niya. Ganoon po iyong aming sinusunod noong ako’y nasa serbisyo eh," said the Antipolo congressman. 

(Because it will depend on their threat assessment whether there's really a huge possibility that there's a threat to her life. That's the parameters that we followed when I was in the service.) 

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But Acop clarified that he wasn't aware of the specific threat assessments on either Duterte or Robredo. 

"If we compare iyong security detail ni VP Robredo to VP Duterte, hindi ko pa alam iyong threat assessment na meron po silang dalawa." 

(If we compare the security detail of VP Robredo to VP Duterte, I wouldn't know the threat assessment of the two.) 

Vice President Duterte had earlier slammed the PNP for removing 75 police officers from her security detail. She called the PNP's move a form of "harassment" and that it was caused by "politics".