Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla on Monday denied allegations that police officers harassed Vice President Sara Duterte and her family during the service of a warrant of arrest against her over a grave threats case.
Remulla said no force was used in the service of the warrant and that the police personnel who went to Duterte’s residence and office were all women and had no armed component or Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team with them.
“There was no SWAT. There was no armed component. The women were all unarmed. They were duly accepted into their residence and into their office,” Remulla said.
“Any thoughts of harassment during the service [are] totally untrue,” he added.
Remulla said Duterte’s camp willingly allowed Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) agents to enter the Vice President’s residence and office.
“In both cases, sa office niya, atsaka sa bahay niya, pinapasok willingly ang mga agents ng CIDG. So, to say that we harassed her is totally not true,” Remulla said.
Remulla said the arresting officers from the CIDG were allowed inside both Duterte’s office and residence and were treated with courtesy throughout the process.
He acknowledged that police personnel had been deployed outside Duterte’s residence in Davao City and that officers were stationed there daily for security monitoring. However, he stressed that they never entered the house to harass Duterte’s mother or children.
“Never did we enter her house to harass her mother or her children,” Remulla said.
Remulla also said Duterte had expressed willingness on Friday to surrender and be detained at Camp Crame. However, he claimed that her camp appeared to want an opportunity for the vice president to be photographed while in detention and handcuffed.
CIDG chief Maj. Gen. Robert Alexander Morico said Duterte’s security team had also asked during negotiations where she would be detained and what food would be served to her.
Duterte ultimately did not proceed to Camp Crame. Instead, she went to the Quezon City Regional Trial Court the following day, where she posted bail in connection with the grave threats case.
The DILG chief also said the Philippine National Police (PNP), through the Police Security and Protection Group (PSPG), had previously offered security personnel to Duterte, but she allegedly declined the offer.
“We did offer na mag-deploy sa PSPG pero ayaw niya,” Remulla said.
“Kung wala siyang tiwala, that is her prerogative,” he added.
Remulla challenged Duterte’s camp to release CCTV footage or other evidence to support its allegations of harassment, while maintaining that the PNP extended appropriate courtesy to Duterte as the country’s second-highest elected official.
"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," Remulla said.
“The truth will always bear out,” he added, as he pointed to videos documenting the service of the warrants.
