DILG disowns Usec’s ‘RevGov’ drive: Just his opinion
Acting Interior Secretary Eduardo Año. (File photo by NIÑO JESUS ORBETA / Philippine Daily Inquirer)
The call for a revolutionary government, or “RevGov,” “is the personal opinion of [Interior Undersecretary] Epimaco Densing III and not of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG),” acting Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said in a statement on Saturday.
Densing, who was the main guest of a citizens’ group calling itself Mula sa Masa Duterte Movement (MMDM) on Friday called on President Duterte to declare a revolutionary government as a way to hasten the country’s transition to a federal government.
“He was speaking as honorary chairman of the MMDM, and not for the DILG,” Año said of Densing.
In an interview with the Inquirer during the MMDM activity in Butuan City, Densing said: “People are allowed in the Constitution to push for a revolutionary government if they think that the existing government no longer serves their interest.”
He added: “In the proposed RevGov, we want to suspend the 1987 Constitution.”
Official position
But Año clarified that the official position of the department on federalism follows the federal Constitution drafted by the Consultative Committee appointed by the President.
“We are advocating for federalism through constitutional means. The 1987 Constitution has clear provisions on how a change in the system of government can be effected. We abide by these provisions and will see to it that any change in the system of government goes through constitutional processes,” Año said.
He explained that the DILG’s “Federalism Roadshow” held in Caraga, Dumaguete, Baguio, Cebu, Legazpi, Davao and Tacloban seeks to inform the public about the merits of the federal system of government, not a revolutionary government.
He also clarified that only duly accredited civil society organizations under the DILG’s Center for Federalism and Constitutional Reform may use the DILG’s name in its federalism advocacy activities.
Año said public comments on the draft Federal Charter can be forwarded to the DILG’s Center for Federalism and Constitutional Reform at [email protected] or the Pederalismo Facebook page @bayanihanfederalism.
Plan for Duterte
“People will push for a people’s government, they will push President Duterte to do People Power so that he would serve as President during the revolutionary period,” Densing said during the MMDM gathering attended by some 300 people wearing red shirts with the words, “Federalism Now! thru RevGov in a democratic way!”
“Once he is there, he will accept the revolutionary power and the first thing he should do is sign a provisional Constitution with the Bill of Rights, then issue an executive order to organize a constitutional commission to set up the federal Constitution of the Philippines,” the interior undersecretary said.
