The role of the Vice President is firmly embedded within the constitutional framework of the Philippines. It is not a separate republic, nor an independent state with its own security or governance. That is why Vice President Sara Duterte’s recent remarks—expressing distrust in the police and claiming she feels unsafe—have raised eyebrows and stirred confusion.
The PNP and AFP have a clear mandate: to safeguard the country’s top officials. The 400 personnel assigned to her are not shadowy figures conducting surveillance but professionals tasked with ensuring her safety. Their reports to their mother units are standard procedure, not espionage. To suggest otherwise undermines the very institutions that protect her.
VP Sara is not a leader of an underground movement who must conceal her activities. She is a duly elected official, accountable to the public. Transparency in her movements is not surveillance—it is part of the responsibility that comes with holding high office. Treating herself as though she were being hunted by the state creates unnecessary friction between her and the institutions she represents.
The three counts of grave threats charges filed against her stems from her documented outburst in November 2024, when she hurled profanities and threats at President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and former Speaker Martin Romualdez. The court’s issuance of an arrest warrant was not a political maneuver but a legal response to behavior that crossed the line. Being Vice President does not exempt her from accountability under the law.
If VP Sara Duterte wishes to assert autonomy, she must remember that autonomy does not mean freedom from the law. Her position exists within one republic, not a separate state. Trust in the institutions of security is not optional—it is integral to her role. Casting suspicion on them weakens not only her standing but also the credibility of the office she holds. #
