Duterte to military: Want me out? Don’t go into ‘stupid’ coup d’état

President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday said soldiers who want to overthrow him do not need to stage an uprising for they just need to go talk to him and he would willingly step down.

“Do not go into such stupid thing na kudeta-kudeta. You’re wasting your time,” Duterte said in his speech during the send-off ceremony of newly-purchased transport vehicles of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP).

“Just talk to me. And if you think that you are right, I will agree with you and I will step down. Uuwi na ako sa amin (I will go back to my home town),” he added.

Earlier, Duterte dared the military and police to stage an uprising against his government and join his fierce critic, Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, if they were no longer satisfied with his leadership.

Such remark of Mr. Duterte, however, was a mere show of confidence on the loyalty of state forces to the President, according to Malacañang.

“Ibig sabihin kampante po ang Presidente na wala namang suporta na manggagaling sa hanay ng militar para patalsikin siya sa pwesto. So ‘yung kanyang seeming incitement is actually an expression of confidence na wala namang susunod po kay Senator Trillanes at sa kanyang mga kasama,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque earlier said.   /kga