Alvarez: Congress ‘can’t say no’ if Duterte wants RevGov

Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez said on Tuesday there was “nothing” Congress could do if President Rodrigo Duterte wishes to install a revolutionary government.

“For me, the President has long stated [his intent to install a revolutionary government], and on the basis of the results of the elections, he achieved a very large mandate,” he told a news conference.

“This means the people are in favor of it,” the Speaker said.

Alvarez noted that Mr. Duterte had broached the possibility of a revolutionary government as early as the campaign season before the presidential elections in May last year.

“You know, if you would recall, during the campaign, the President already said that, so that’s not news. He said, ‘if I don’t achieve the change I want for the country because of many obstacles, then I will exercise that option of a revolutionary government,” the Speaker said.

Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas chimed in: “During the campaign, he even threatened to abolish Congress.”

Alvarez said: “So what can we do about it? It’s not like we can say ‘no’.”

The House leader joked that it would actually benefit him if Congress were abolished under a revolutionary government: “It’s okay with me because it means no more work for us.”                  /kga