PSG security for Bongbong urged
ANAKALUSUGAN Party-list Representative Mike Defensor is proposing to the national government to provide security to former Sen. Bongbong Marcos Jr.
Unlike his opponents, Marcos has no security provided by the government because he is not a sitting government official, according to Defensor.
Defensor also said that since Marcos has the highest chances of winning the presidential elections, based on the surveys, the government should consider offering him a Presidential Security Group (PSG) team.
Defensor, a mayoralty candidate in Quezon City, is an ally of Marcos. The former presidential son is running under Partido Federal ng Pilipinas and his runningmate is Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte.
“The problem with our setup here is that if you are not an incumbent official and you run for president or vice president, you have no government protection at all, unlike in the United States,” Defensor said.
“In America, all presidential and vice-presidential candidates – whether they are current officeholders or not – are automatically safeguarded by the U.S. Secret Service, the same agency defending their sitting president against potential harm or attack,” the veteran solon added.
“We are also not worried about presidential candidates Manny Pacquiao and Panfilo Lacson Sr. who are incumbent senators and have bodyguards paid for by the Senate,” Defensor said.
Vice presidential candidate Vicente Sotto III, the current Senate President, likewise enjoys bodyguards paid for by the Senate, according to Defensor.
“Even presidential candidate Isko Moreno enjoys some official protection given that he is the sitting mayor of Manila, so we are also not that worried about him,” Defensor added.
Defensor said he is not worried about Mayor Sara as she is covered by the PSG’s protective shield as daughter of the sitting president.
The PSG is the primary agency tasked with providing close-in security and escort to the President and the Vice President, their immediate families, former Presidents and Vice Presidents as well as visiting heads of state.
