THE National Police’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group followed established protocols in serving the warrant of arrest against Vice President Sara Duterte, Interior Secretary Juanito Victor Remulla said.
Remulla said the CIDG closely coordinated with the Vice President’s security team and maintained communication with her camp throughout the process.
‘It was coordinated very closely by the head of [her] security and the CIDG. There was constant communication between parties. It was not a cloak-and-dagger na sinusundan namin,’ Remulla said.
The DILG chief made the statement after Duterte, who posted bail at the Regional Trial Court in Quezon City, raised security concerns and claimed alleged harassment in connection with the service of the warrant.
Duterte offered police protection
REMULLA said the PNP offered the Vice President protection and assistance and assured her camp that she would be accorded appropriate courtesy while the legal process took its course.
‘We made it clear that she will be accorded all the respect here. She will not be jailed and handcuffed, and she will be presented to court the next day,’ he said.
‘We gave them the option to come here, but they decided to go to the Quezon City Regional Trial Court,’ he added.
Remulla also presented footage of the warrant service, stressing that the operation was conducted without an armed or tactical component.
All-women, police team
‘IN the service of the warrant, there was no SWAT [special weapons and tactics team]; there was no armed component. The women [police personnel] are all unarmed. They were duly accepted into the residence and into the office,’ he said.
‘Any thoughts of harassment during the service are totally untrue.’
Remulla said any available CCTV footage from the Vice President’s office or residence may also be presented to help establish the circumstances surrounding the service of the warrant.
Maj. Gen. Robert Alexander A. Morico II, CIDG chief, meanwhile, said personnel assigned to his unit proceeded to the Vice President’s office after receiving the warrants on Friday afternoon to formally inform her and coordinate the necessary arrangements with her security team.
He said the PNP also prepared appropriate custody arrangements after Duterte’s camp initially indicated that she may stay at a PNP facility. Her camp subsequently opted to proceed to the RTC in Quezon City, where she posted bail.
Remulla maintained that the PNP was simply carrying out a lawful court order and acted with professionalism throughout the process.
He stressed that law enforcement institutions must continue to perform their duties fairly and responsibly, regardless of the position or status of the person involved.
Standard security
REMULLA also clarified that the police presence near the Vice President’s residence in Davao City is part of standard security protocol and not an operation directed against her or her family.
Remulla said policemen are regularly stationed in the area to help secure the Vice President’s residence and nearby establishments.
‘At their house in Davao, there is always a police presence outside, and that’s because of the establishment next door… So that’s not just for that night, it’s every day: they are guarding their [Duterte’s] residence,’ Remulla said.
The clarification came after Duterte expressed concern for the safety of her family, claiming that her mother and children were harassed at their family home in Davao City.
Remulla categorically denied that the police presence was intended to harass or intimidate Duterte’s family, stressing that personnel did not enter the residence.
‘Never did we enter her house to harass her mother or her children. Gabi-gabi naman nandiyan talaga iyan [police presence], just to provide deterrent kung may gustong may gumawa ng masama kay Vice President,’ he said.
The DILG chief emphasized that the deployment was neither a one-time operation nor an extraordinary security measure, but part of the regular police presence maintained in the area consistent with established security procedures.
He stressed that the role of the police is to maintain peace and order and protect the public, including the Vice President and her family, and that routine security measures should not be misconstrued as harassment or intimidation.