Sara Duterte’s security detail comprised nearly half of OVP personnel in 2024

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Of the OVP’s 781 personnel in 2024, 335 were members of the Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group

MANILA, Philippines – Nearly half of the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) personnel in 2024 were comprised of Vice President Sara Duterte’s security detail, according to a Commission on Audit (COA) report.

Of the OVP’s 781 personnel in 2024, 432% or 335 were members of the Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group (VPSPG), while officials and employees with plantilla positions numbered only 165.

An official copy of the audit report was submitted to the OVP on June 26, 2025.

The OVP said in its disclosure in the Financial Statements (FS) that members of the VPSPG joined Duterte’s delegation in foreign and local trips, and that the unit was among the recipients of donations from the OVP.

“Various motor vehicles with total carrying amount of P5,108,106.23 were donated to the following donee in CY 2024: Vice Presidential Security and Protection Group (VPSPG), Kanggahan Elementary School, and Liberty Elementary School,” the OVP said in the Notes to FS.

In late June 2022, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP)  activated the VPSPG — a “separate” unit from the Presidential Security Group (PSG) — for then-vice president elect Duterte, with an initial count of 440 members.

In April this year, the AFP said it “reorganized” the VPSPG into the AFP Security and Protection Group as part of its “rationalization and streamlining efforts” as approved by the Department of National Defense. – Rappler.com