Malacañang: Police, military should serve people, not Duterte family
MANILA, Philippines — The Palace on Tuesday, March 25, rejected the Duterte family’s attempts to directly appeal to the military to take action on their own during controversies.
During the Senate hearing on the International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte, his daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, questioned why the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) allowed it to happen.
“The public servant should be apolitical. They should not be dragged over these personal issues, especially of the Duterte’s,” Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said in a press briefing on Tuesday,.
Castro said that the Dutertes should not call upon the military and the police for their issues just so that they can get what they want.
“Ang militar po, ang kasundalohan, ang kapulisan po natin ay para sa bayan, hindi para po sa pamilya Duterte lamang,” Castro said.
(The military, the soldiers, and the police are for the nation, not just for the Duterte family.)
The comment was in response to a statement by Senate President Francis Escudero, who questioned the vice president’s actions, noting that it appears to be a recurring pattern for the Duterte family to ask the military to intervene in such controversies.
"It’s clear: the AFP was merely assisting in a law enforcement operation. The AFP cannot oppose or clash with the police during such operations. Why are we forcing conflict between the two?” Escudero said on Monday.
The vice president’s appeal to the military is not the first one made by the Duterte family.
The Duterte patriarch had also challenged the military on whether they would still be willing to follow President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
The remark led to Rodrigo being accused of inciting into sedition.
Rodrigo had once been at the top of the military’s chain of command during his presidency.
However, a president’s executive powers over the military are not permanent; they end once their term is over. While Marcos is the current commander-in-chief of the AFP, he too will step down when his term ends.
The vice president also does not have any mandate or control over the military, unless the president grants them a defense position in the Cabinet.
- Latest
- Trending
