MANILA, Philippines- Dumepensa ang Office of the Vice President (OVP) sa 433 security personnel ni Vice President Sara Duterte noong 2022, at binigyang-diin na ang pagkukumpara sa mga dating bise presidente ay “absurd” at “completely lacking basis.”
Iginiit ng OVP nitong Linggo na ang Commission on Audit (COA) “found no adverse findings on the creation of the Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group (VPSPG).”
“The deployment of VPSPG personnel largely depends on the assessment of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP). The OVP remains grateful to the AFP and PNP for supporting the VPSPG and OVP,” pahayag nito.
“Comparisons between Vice President Sara Duterte and the security personnel of former Vice Presidents are absurd and completely lacking basis,” dagdag pa nito.
Ito ay kasunod ng pinakabagong COA audit report kung saan makikita na ang opisina ni Duterte ay mayroong 455-percent increase sa security and protection noong 2022 kumpara sa 78 detailed military personnel sa ilalim ni dating vice president Leni Robredo noong 2021.
Sa 683 personnel sa ilalim ng manpower roster nito para sa kasalukuyang taon, 63 porsyento o 433 indibidwal ang bahagi ng VPSPG. Katumbas ito ng anim sa kada 10 OVP personnel.
Subalit, inihayag ng OVP na nag-ugat ang pagtatalaga ng amraming security personnel sa iba’t ibang engagement ni Duterte bilang second-highest elected official ng bansa, maging bilang kalihim ng Department of Education (DepEd), co-vice chairperson ng National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), at presidente ng Southeast Asia Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO).
“The VPSPG will wholly provide all future Philippine Vice Presidents with necessary security and protection, a fundamental task that it will inevitably perform even when the Vice President and the President face the misfortune of having a relationship strained or broken by political differences – a troubling situation we have seen during the past administration,” anang OVP. RNT/SA
