Palace: Rody’s ‘insulting’ call to AFP just for Sara takeover

‘SELFISH’ Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin says former President Rodrigo Duterte should respect the 1987 Constitution after the latter called on the military to intervene amid the rift between his daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, and President Marcos. On Tuesday, groups started gathering at Edsa Shrine on Ortigas Avenue in Pasig City to show support for Vice President Duterte who, in an online address to supporters early Saturday, admitted that she had contracted someone to kill Marcos. —Photos by the House of Representatives/Grig C. Montegrande

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang on Tuesday vowed to “act resolutely” against unlawful attempts and challenges to the government as it slammed former President Rodrigo Duterte for his “selfish and brazen” motives in calling on the military to correct the country’s “fractured governance.”

Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin did not mince words in calling out the 79-year-old Duterte for “insulting” the military by asking them to “betray their oath.”

In a statement, Bersamin slammed the former President for “calling for a sitting President to be overthrown” so that his daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, the constitutional successor of President Marcos, can take over the country.

READ: AFP distances itself from Marcos-Duterte spat

“He will go to great and evil lengths, such as insulting our professional armed forces by asking them to betray their oath, for his plan to succeed,” said Bersamin, a former Chief Justice.

He said Duterte “should respect the 1987 Constitution, not disobey it.”

READ: Duterte’s call for military to act may only benefit VP Sara – solon

“[Duterte] should desist from being as irresponsible as he has become,” he said, adding that it was shocking for the former President to make a “brazen call” for the military to intervene.

Until when?

While claiming that he is not into “agitating” for a coup d’etat, Duterte told the military to rethink how, as an institution, its members would act on their mandate as protector of the country’s Constitution and the people.

“Hanggang kailan ninyo susuportahan ang durugistang presidente (Until when are you going to support a President who’s taking drugs)?” Duterte asked as he faced reporters in Davao City late Monday night with Davao del Norte Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez and lawyer Martin Delgra, his spokesperson.

Duterte held the press conference as the rift between his daughter and the first family deepened, pounding on the same issues and accusations that he let off back in January when the former President and his supporters launched the “Hakbang ng Maisug” movement to rival that of the Bagong Pilipinas movement of President Marcos.

Duterte, during the Maisug rally in Davao early this year, called President Marcos “bangag” (stoned). A few days later, Marcos said his predecessor’s remarks might have been due to his prolonged use of fentanyl, an opioid used to treat severe pain from major trauma, surgery, or cancer.

Marcos’ political detractors have been using his alleged use of illegal drugs to criticize his capacity to lead the country and to present Sara Duterte as a more viable option.

In late 2021 before the campaign for the 2022 elections, Marcos denied allegations of illegal drug use by presenting results of a drug test from St. Luke’s Medical Center in Taguig City. The results showed that he tested negative for cocaine use.

Marcos and Sara Duterte eventually won under the so-called UniTeam but this political partnership eventually collapsed in July when the latter resigned from the Cabinet as secretary of the Department of Education.

‘Legally actionable’

Justice Undersecretary Jesse Andres on Tuesday said Rodrigo Duterte’s call for military action is “bordering on sedition and is legally actionable.”

“I do not know where the [former] President is getting his notion, we have a strong and functioning republic. Civil governance is for civilians, and the military has no role whatsoever. For him to invite the military to have a part in seeking remedy is bordering on sedition and is legally actionable,” Andres said in an ambush interview.

The Department of Justice official said Duterte’s statements would also be investigated alongside other similar incidents, including “people encouraging some form of demonstration.”

“We don’t know whether this is coming from the efforts of the former President or elsewhere, but again, we will need to examine every angle,” Andres said. “The threat issued by the Vice President [against President Marcos] is something that should also be taken into consideration, whether it is really part of a larger plan for destabilization.”

Bersamin assured the public that the Marcos 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.”

“It will defend its legacy before the Filipino people only by lawful means. The state will act resolutely to go against all unlawful attempts and challenges,” he said.

No coup call

He stressed that a violent power grab through murder, anarchy and revolution to install a new president “will never be acceptable.”

“You should wait for the right time, and follow the right process,” Bersamin said.

During his press conference, Duterte, when asked whether he was calling for a military junta or even a coup d’etat, said: “… President ako, nakita ko ang (I was a former President, I know the) situation, there’s a breakage and fracture (in the governance of our country) and it’s only the military who can correct it.”

“Not junta, sinabi ko (I say). Ibig ko bang sabihin ang mililtary mag… (Am I saying the military should) …. ? It’s an option for the military or they can just sit there or doon sa bukid maglinis ng baril, sabihin lang nila ayaw na namin ’yung laro ninyo, out kami diyan (or in the mountains, cleaning their guns, they can say, we don’t like your game, we’re opting out of it),” Duterte said.

“How the military will do it, it’s up to them,” he added. “Hindi iyan kudeta, hindi (That’s not a call to launch a coup).”

Duterte said he was arranging to talk with the military “in a free-wheeling discussion” so they could reflect on the idea of being the “protector of the Constitution, what it means to them.”

He said he was giving premium to engaging junior officers, from those with the rank of colonel down to the lowest-ranked soldier. “If it is for the interest of the country, why would we not [do it],” he said.

Loyalty to Constitution

But Col. Francel Margareth Padilla, Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesperson, said the military remains to be a nonpartisan organization whose loyalty is to the flag and the Constitution.

“At this point there is no need for loyalty checks, our chief of staff has already stated that he trusts that each soldier will perform its mandate accordingly and remain professional,” Padilla said in a briefing at Camp Aguinaldo on Tuesday.

She echoed AFP chief of staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr.’s statement that the military would remain “united and professional” in the face of “all [the] noise that is going on,” referring to the growing rift between President Marcos and Vice President Duterte.

“With all of these things, we respectfully request that we are shunned away from political issues,” she said.

She called on the military not to “lose focus on the bigger challenge that we are facing ahead.”

“Our loyalty is to the flag and to the Constitution and we adhere to the chain of command,” she said.

In the same briefing, Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad, the Philippine Navy spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, urged Filipinos to remain united in facing the threats the country is facing, particularly the West Philippine Sea issue.

“Your AFP takes pride in being military professionals. We take pride in performing our mandate without fanfare, over sea, over land and over the air,” Trinidad said.

“This has been the trademark of the Armed Forces recently and we intend to continue that, upholding the flag, being loyal to the duly constituted civil authorities and ensuring the chain of command is intact and secured,” he added.

In a post on X on Tuesday, Mr. Marcos’ former presidential security group commander Ramon “Demy” Zagala, who now heads the AFP community relations service, also said the military would remain loyal to the Constitution.

“Our soldiers will continue to be loyal to our chain of command and to the Constitution which we swore to protect at all times. The AFP shall remain a nonpartisan organization. We in the AFP will heed only to our mandate, and our loyalty remains to the flag alone,” he said. —with reports from Jane Bautista, Nestor Corrales, Melvin Gascon, and Joselle R. Badilla