VP security to be replaced with new personnel

MANILA, Philippines —  The government is replacing the head and members of the Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group (VPSPG) with a new contingent from the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Philippine National Police (PNP), AFP chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. announced yesterday.

In a speech during a leadership summit at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City, Brawner said they received a subpoena from the PNP that called for members of the VPSPG to be investigated due to the commotion at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) in Quezon City over the weekend.

Vice President Sara Duterte, who claims there are threats to her life, said she would refuse the new security contingent and would instead rely on her own team, which is being put together by friends.

Brawner clarified that he is not taking over the VPSPG but is replacing personnel including its commander, Col. Raymund Dante Lachica, because of ongoing police and legislative investigations.

“There were rumors that the security for the Vice President will be pulled out by the AFP. That is not true. So, the story here is that we received a subpoena from the PNP calling the members of the VPSPG for investigation,” he said.

“There is an investigation. So we followed the subpoena and what we will do is we are just going to temporarily replace them with a contingent from the PNP and from the AFP,” he explained.

In an interview after his speech, Brawner told reporters that it is not yet clear if all VPSPG personnel will be replaced, since all are still under study.

Brawner also gave assurance that the military will continue to protect and will not allow any harm to come to Vice President Sara Duterte.

“We will not leave her because the security of the Vice President is still of primary concern to us. Because if there’s an untoward incident, let’s say something happens to the Vice President, this may be the start of disorder. Because according to what she said, she will take actions against the President, the First Lady and the Speaker of the House,” Brawner said.

“We don’t want that to happen. What if there are some groups there that may do something to the Vice President just to blame it on another and then