DOJ: Duterte’s call borders on sedition; Palace: Selfish, irresponsible

Former President Rodrigo Duterte urged the military to withdraw support from the Marcos administration and intervene to “correct” what he described as “fractured governance.”

Even as Duterte nixed calls for a People Power, Malacañang interpreted his statements as pushing for a coup d’etat, and called his actions “selfish and irresponsible.”

The Armed Forces of the Philippines, for its part, junked efforts to politicize the military, noting that the chain of command remains “intact and secure.”

“There is a fractured governance in the Philippines right now,” Duterte said in a press conference late Monday evening.

“Nobody can correct Marcos. Nobody can correct (Speaker Martin) Romualdez… There is no urgent remedy. It is only the military who can correct it,” he said.

“How long will you continue to support a president who is a drug addict?” Duterte asked the military.

The Department of Justice said Duterte’s call on the military to take action was “bordering on sedition.”

“There is no such thing as a fractured governance. The military has no role whatsoever in civil governance except to protect the people,” Justice Undersecretary Jesse Andres said.

“For him to invite the military to have a part in seeking remedy is bordering on sedition and is legally actionable,” he added.

In a statement, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin accused Duterte of going to “great and evil lengths” to achieve his purported goal of installing his daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, as president.

“No motive is more selfish than calling for a sitting president to be overthrown so that your daughter can take over,” Bersamin said. 

“It is shocking that former President Duterte openly calls on our Armed Forces to launch a coup against President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.”

“Violent usurpation of power in order to be easily installed as president through assassinations, riots, and uprisings is unacceptable. Wait for the right time, follow the right procedure,” the Palace official added.

AFP spokesperson Col. Francel Padilla added: “We are facing greater challenges that require the strength of a unified country and armed forces. As a cornerstone of national stability, the AFP shall remain non-partisan with utmost respect to democratic institutions and civilian authority.”

She said there is no need for a loyalty check as the military top brass is confident that soldiers will remain professional and loyal to the Constitution.

“We respectfully request that we are shunned away from political issues…We reiterate our need to stand together against those who will break our bonds as Filipinos,” Padilla added.

Bersamin said the Marcos administration will uphold the rule of law and maintain stability amid what it described as “unlawful attempts and challenges.”

“This administration will not shirk from its sworn duty to govern and manage the affairs of the Filipino nation according to the Constitution and the rule of law,” he said. 

During his press conference, Duterte began by saying he is already retired and no longer has hany authority to lead a People Power.

He was asked if will step in to help his daughter, the Vice President, amid the possible legal actions that she faces after she said she contracted a hitman to kill the President, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and Romualdez.

“She can handle that. That is such a small thing,” he said.

The Vice President, for her part, said she “agrees with the assumption” of her father that the President is a drug addict.

“I agree with fractured governance. I agree with the assumption that he’s a drug addict because he continuously refuses to do a drug test,” she said in an ambush interview at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center.

Meanwhile, House Majority Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe dismissed Duterte’s tirades against Mr. Marcos as baseless, done “in desperation to divert attention from the ongoing investigations into his own alleged crimes against humanity and his daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte’s misuse of hundreds of millions of confidential intelligence funds.”

“The Filipino people will never support a family that seeks to cling to power to evade accountability for corruption, genocide, and other high crimes,” Dalipe said.