A matter of security

Conclusion

Philippine history has taught us that in 1972, when former president Ferdinand Marcos Sr. declared martial law, he abolished the position of vice president and the Philippines had no VP for 14 years until 1986. During the Cory administration, then vice president Doy Laurel was tagged as an opposition vice president, even revealing to the Senate a list of high level officials under the Aquino government – a red list of over a hundred officials with the intention to warn the government of serious threats. Eventually, vice president Laurel faced a fact-finding body to testify as he faced accusations of coup plotting and while he was called out for not condemning the coup, he was not implicated in it. Clearly, in the case of Laurel, he proved to be far from being a mere spare tire, considering he held many other influential positions.

In light of all this, and taking into consideration just how important a vice president’s role can be, the Armed Forces of the Philippines in August of this year also agreed, through their spokesperson, that it was best for Vice President Duterte to choose her close-in security, especially in uncertain situations as these are the very same people who will offer their lives for her.

Once again, and being entirely circumspect about the situation, by design and necessity, as once explained by an army official, the Presidential Security Command is a much larger unit than the VPSPG, which consists of the different levels of security (including that of the Philippine National Police) required specifically for both the president and the vice president, which is intended to promote confidence in the general public about safety precautions for the two most important leaders of the land. This certainly makes it a matter of security, one which upholds a position of trust, integrity and a monumental amount of responsibility.