President Rodrigo Duterte drew flak Friday for suggesting he would declare a revolutionary government and throw his critics in jail if they push him to the wall.
However, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio said Friday her father cannot suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus as he planned to do.
“If you go by it legally, the President cannot… only the Congress can do that under the Constitution,” the mayor — like her father a lawyer by profession — told reporters in Cagayan de Oro City.
“If the President has announcements about that, I have yet to read on what basis [he would suspend the writ],” she added.
Speaking before the 31st annual convention of the Prosecutor’s League of the Philippines in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan on Thursday, the President was clearly irked by the advice of Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon that the administration should tread carefully or risk being sued, after Duterte had ordered a review of all government contracts.
“F*** you, how dare you say that to me, Mr. Drilon?” the President said.
“I have enough problems with criminality, drugs, rebellion and all but if you pushed me to the wall, I will declare the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus and I will arrest all of you. You are with the rebels, the criminals and the drug addicts. Then, you burden me? I will declare a revolutionary war until the end of my term,” Duterte said.
Reacting to the threat, Vice President Leni Robredo said Friday the President would be violating the Constitution and abandoning his post as Chief Executive if he declares a revolutionary government.
She described the President’s comments as irresponsible.
“Holding public office calls for officials to be prudent with their pronouncements, and not to resort to tantrums in the face of criticisms,” Robredo said.
Robredo’s lawyer and opposition Senate bet Romulo Macalintal said that declaring a revolutionary government would be tantamount to Duterte abandoning his post, paving the way for Robredo to become President.
“To declare a revolutionary government would mean that the President becomes its leader, while Robredo becomes the leader as president of a duly constituted government,” he said.
The senatorial candidate said a revolutionary government would divide the allegiance of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
He also said that while the President may declare a revolutionary government, it was up to the people whether to accept it or not.
Under a democratic system, sovereignty lies with the people, and not with the President alone, he said.
Two of the President’s allies in the Senate said he was unlikely to declare a revolutionary government.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III said the President was just frustrated.
“I’m sure he will have a better outlook once his programs against criminality become more successful. Suspension of the writ has proper constitutional safeguards while a revolutionary war is a metaphor,” he said.
Senator Panfilo Lacson said the President will not do it “because he is too smart and intelligent to know he cannot do it.”
But opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros described the President’s outburst as alarming and shameful.
Senator Francis Pangilinan, also with the opposition, said instead of threatening his critics with arrest, Duterte should arrest the big-time drug lords and his Customs appointees who have allegedly repeatedly brought in tons of shabu worth billions of pesos.
“With the arrest of these big-time drug lords, he would have proven his drug war is for real and his critics will be silenced. His critics silenced not by threats of arrests but by his sterling performance in going after these syndicates,” he said.
In the middle of China’s massive, illegal and deep incursion into Philippine territory, Duterte would rather pick on his own people than confront the country’s real invader, Hontiveros said.
Instead of standing up to China’s aggression, she said the President threatens his own people with warrantless arrests and war.
She added what should be suspended are not the people’s civil liberties but the onerous contracts entered into by Duterte with the Chinese government.
“Those who should be arrested are not our countrymen and women but foreign encroachers who illegally occupy our territories, threaten our small fisherfolk, smuggle illegal drugs and rob our workers of their jobs,” she said.
On Thursday, Duterte slammed Minority Leader Franklin Drilon for advising the government to exercise caution in implementing the President’s directive to review all contracts and loan agreements including those with China.
In the House, Isabela Rep. Rodolfo Albano III said it was the President’s prerogative to suggest a revolutionary government, while Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel said it wasn’t a good idea.
“We are one of the oldest democratic governments in the world and so far under this democratic government, our country is rapidly developing,” Pimentel said.
“If we become a revolutionary government, we will be returning back to the dark days of martial law where we became stagnant in development. I hope the President will study thoroughly whether this is a wise decision because that will have severe repercussions.”
Former congresswoman and Akbayan Party-list chairperson-emeritus Etta Rosales on Friday pooh-poohed President Duterte’s threat to suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus.
“Criticism is part and parcel of a democratic society. The Constitution protects the freedom of speech of everyone, including those who are criticizing the Duterte government’s surrender to China, the failed drug war, and the rampant corruption,” Rosales said in a statement.
She said the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus can be suspended only in time of war or under a dictatorship. “The President should know that employing tactics from the Marcos playbook does not end well,” she added.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra, meanwhile, said the President was only expressing his frustration over the endless criticism for actions made in the best interest of the public.
“What I know, though, is that he is getting exasperated about endless roadblocks to his attempts to protect the people’s interests,” Guevarra said.
“As a lawyer, the President knows the scope and limitations of his constitutional powers and he will act in accordance therewith,” Guevarra added.
Earlier, National Union of People’s Lawyers president Edre Olalia called the threat an authoritarian reaction “of a leader intolerant of dissenting or divergent opinions.”
Olalia said, “there is absolutely no legal, constitutional, and factual basis to suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus.”
“There is no other appropriate people’s reaction but to fight and we must fight against brute despotism clothed in legal garb,” he said.