VICE PRESIDENT Sara Duterte wanted the drama of being arrested, handcuffed and put behind bars for her grave threats case, but the authorities declined to let her have her way, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said Monday.
“She wanted to be handcuffed, she wanted to sleep here, she wanted to see what it looked like behind the bars,” Remulla said in Filipino.
“She asked what the room looked like, and when we told her the room had good air conditioning, it seemed like she changed her mind. The picture she wanted to appear in the media was of her behind bars. She doesn’t deserve that anyway; it’s a bailable offense.”
The Quezon City Regional Trial Court on Friday issued an arrest warrant against Duterte for three counts of grave threats over her 2024 statement that she had contracted someone to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and former House speaker Martin Romualdez if she herself was killed.
No harassment
Police denied Duterte’s accusation that they harassed her.
MGen. Alexander Morico II, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) director, said they received the arrest warrant on Friday.
Immediately after, an unarmed team of the CIDG’s Women and Children Protection Unit went to her home address and her Mandaluyong City office to inform her about the arrest warrant, all documented in videos.
As per initial communication with the Vice Presidential Security Group (VPSG), the vice president would make an appearance at the CIDG headquarters in Camp Crame. However, Morico was informed by the security detail’s representative who goes by the name “Major Nabua” that Duterte intends to be jailed. He then asked what the conditions were like in the jail.
“I was informed by the VPSG that she does not want to post bail, she wants to be incarcerated so they asked where is the jail facility,” Morico said.
Morico did not accept the surrender of the vice president because grave threats is a bailable offense and putting her behind bars despite the available legal remedy of bail could have put her life and safety in danger.
“I told the VPSG and the commanding officer on the phone that I will not commit the vice president to jail, and she would be put in a conference room because we have to afford her all the necessary respect due to her office,” he said.
Morico said the jail facilities of the Philippine National Police (PNP) detain notorious criminals which poses a direct threat to the life of the second highest official of the land.
“I told Major Nabua that if the vice president will come, what we have is just a simple folding bed, because they are also concerned about about the food. I told them that we can give her what we can afford, which is either Jollibee or McDonald’s. But they can bring their own food,” Morico said.
Despite these initial conversations, Duterte did not appear before the CIDG, which was informed the next day that she would be proceeding directly to the Quezon City RTC to post her bail of P360,000 for three counts of grave threats.
Produce harassment video
Remulla also challenged the camp of the vice president to produce videos proving she was harassed by police officers — an accusation he said was “totally untrue.”
“We dare them to present any CCTVs that they have in their office, in their residence of harassment that went on in the service of the warrant,” he said.
“There was no SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics). There was no armed component. The women were all unarmed. They were duly accepted into their residence and into their office,” Remulla said.
“So, any thoughts of harassment during the service [are] totally untrue,” he added.
On Saturday, Duterte displayed hesitancy to enter the building saying she does “not feel safe” and said she distrusts the courts and police, and refused to be left alone with them.
Remulla said the police did not arrest her despite knowing her whereabouts as a courtesy to her position as vice president.
Remulla also said there is always a police presence outside her house, which is standard operating procedure for all very important persons.
“Never did we enter her house to harass her mother or her children. The security detail is there every night just to provide deterrence, if someone wants something to happen to the vice president,” he added.
Prerogative
Remulla said it is the prerogative of the vice president to refuse security detail from the PNP if she distrusts police officers.
In a press briefing at Camp Crame, Remulla said Duterte was indeed offered security through the Police Security and Protection Group (PSPG) of the PNP, as are all dignitaries.
The PSPG is an office under the PNP which provides protective security services for government officials.
