‘It’s a dictatorship:’ Senators oppose discussion of RevGov bid

MANILA, Philippines — Several senators on Wednesday “squarely” opposed the idea of discussing the call made by certain groups to establish a revolutionary government.

President Rodrigo Duterte, who earlier dismissed the call for a revolutionary government, recently said that it should be discussed publicly and not in secrecy.

“We should not even be discussing it. We have so many problems. Revolutionary government is a dictatorship, plain and simple. Kawawa ang tao diyan [The people will suffer]. We will oppose that. I am squarely against it,” Sen. Richard Gordon said in an interview over ABS-CBN News Channel on Wednesday.

A group called the Mayor Rodrigo Roa Duterte-National Executive Coordinating Committee (MRRD-NECC) earlier launched a movement calling for a revolutionary government to be led by the Duterte administration so that it could fast-track the government’s transition to federalism.

Gordon stressed that instituting a revolutionary government would only result in negative effects for the country.

“They can remove anybody, they can incarcerate anybody, and that’s not going to be good for our country,” he said.

“We will lose the respect of the world and our economy will go down just as it did during the time of Mr. Marcos,” he added, referring to the late dictator, former President Ferdinand Marcos, who declared martial law nationwide in 1972.

‘Dangerous’

Echoing Gordon’s view, Sen. Panfilo Lacson also rejected discussing the proposed revolutionary government.

“There is nothing to discuss about a revolutionary government. There is absolutely no justification nor legal basis for it. It is a very dangerous proposition,” he said in a message to reporters.

“It is divisive and could plunge the country into social unrest and even civil war,” he added.

For Sen. Francis Pangilinan, the “abysmal” COVID-19 response of the administration should be the subject of discussion and not the call for a revolutionary government.

“The COVID situation is horribly out of control,” he said in a statement.

“That’s why the open discussion that needs to be done is on how to overhaul the government’s COVID response which is marred with incompetence and corruption,” he added.

He said discussions should center on stopping the spread of the virus and addressing the consequent joblessness and hunger in the country.

“That RevGov only adds to the problem and is not a solution to the problem,” Pangilinan said. “Failed gov, not RevGov — that’s what should be talked about.”

[Original statement in Filipino: “Dagdag pa sa problema at hindi solusyon sa problema yang rev gov na yan. Failed gov, hindi rev gov, ang kailangan pag-usapan.”]