Sara Duterte's security budget should be scrutinized: lawmaker | ABS-CBN

ADVERTISEMENT

News

Sara Duterte's security budget should be scrutinized: lawmaker

Sara Duterte's security budget should be scrutinized: lawmaker

Katrina Domingo,

ABS-CBN News

Clipboard

Vice President and outgoing Education Secretary Sara Z. Duterte plants a tree during the Department of Education Turnover Ceremony at the Bulwagan ng Karunungan, Department of Education Central Office in Pasig City on July 18, 2024. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN NewsVice President and outgoing Education Secretary Sara Z. Duterte plants a tree during the Department of Education Turnover Ceremony at the Bulwagan ng Karunungan, Department of Education Central Office in Pasig City on July 18, 2024. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News

MANILA -- Vice President Sara Duterte's budget for her security should be scrutinized after the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) confirmed that 400 of its personnel are assigned to protect the Philippines' second-in-command, a lawmaker said on Saturday.

Duterte earlier slammed the Philippine National Police's (PNP) leadership for pulling out 75 personnel from her security detail, but did not mention that around 400 military members are still tasked to ensure the safety and security of the Vice President and her immediate family.

"We are spending too much for the security of one family," Manila Rep. Joel Chua said in a news forum.

"Dapat tingnan din natin kung saan talaga napupunta yung budget dahil ito ay pera ng taong bayan," he said.

ADVERTISEMENT

One hundred soldiers are enough to protect Duterte, her husband and their children, the lawmaker said.

"Para sa isang pamilya gaano karaming security po ba ang kailangan? Dapat tingnan din po natin kung sapat," he said.

"Wala namang masama basta majujustify nila yung pondo nila… Hindi naman tayo para mang-ipit ng tao. Ang gusto lang natin ma-justify," he said.

"Baka mamaya totoo din naman [na kulang] so at least malaman natin. So tayo naman tinitingnan lang natin yung mga merit ng kaniyang sagot," he added.

In June, Duterte resigned from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s cabinet, but refused to elaborate her reasons for tendering her irrevocable resignation.

Last week, Duterte on Tuesday thanked her allies and supporters who "volunteered" to be part of her security team following the recall of 75 policemen assigned to her, and urged her supporters to protect her family and to not let anyone get away with harming them.

Chua said Duterte's recent tirades against the administration seem to be designed to divert public attention away from the Vice President's recent trip to Germany at the height of Typhoon Carina's devastation in different parts of the country.

Duterte earlier issued a statement, saying that the Office of the Vice President (OVP) was able to provide aid and relief to typhoon victims despite her absence as the agency has an existing mechanism for disaster relief efforts.

Chua also slammed the Vice President for blaming the current administration's supposed lack of flood control projects, which allegedly contributed to the massive flooding in Metro Manila and other nearby 

"Uncalled for at unfair yung kaniyang statement," he said.

"I think unfair yung comment na binitawan kasi nung nakita naman natin yung buhos, mas matindi pa ito sa Ondoy," he said.

President Marcos Jr. has been in power for only two years, while former President Rodrigo Duterte — the vice president's father — had six years to enact the flood control projects she is looking for, Chua said.

"'Yung kapatid niya yung congressman, si VP ang mayor noong time na yun kaya tingin ko unfair kung ikokompara dito kasi mas matagal silang nanunungkulan," he said.

"Consistent naman yung kanilang pamumuno doon and yet nakita naman po natin ang naging resulta," he said.

"Kung minsan dapat iniingatan din natin yung mga binibitawan natin kasi baka magboomerang sa atin yung mga ganitong isyu."

Chua is a former Aksyon Demokratiko member, who recently transferred to Lakas-CMD.

Lakas-CMD is a party led by House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, who has also been on the receiving end of the Vice President's criticisms.

RELATED VIDEOS:






ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ABS-CBN is the leading media and entertainment company in the Philippines, offering quality content across TV, radio, digital, and film. Committed to public service and promoting Filipino values, ABS-CBN continues to inspire and connect audiences worldwide.

© 2025 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

© 2025 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.