Norberto Gonzales: Coups don’t succeed in PH… but Aquino must step down

Former defense chief Norberto Gonzales. AFP FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Coups don’t succeed in the Philippines.

Thus stated former defense chief Norberto Gonzales amid accusations by Senator Antonio Trillanes IV that he was involved in a plan to stage a coup d’etat against the Aquino administration in the face of public outrage on the authorities’ handling of the operation to capture Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir, alias “Marwan,” that resulted in the massacre of 44 police commandos.

“I think kung makakapag advise [ako] sa [Armed Forces of the Philippines] at [Philippine National Police] dapat hindi sila padalos-dalos dito ngayon. Imagine may nagpaplano ng coup. Alam natin ang coup hindi nagsa-succeed sa Pilipinas. Maraming attempts at hindi successful,” he said at Podcast.ph on Monday, without categorically admitting the accusation thrown against him.

He said coups lead to factionalism in the Armed Forces.

“Ang dapat tingnan ng AFP ay ang mga aksyon na nagtagumpay sila. Alam mo, pag nag coup ka at nahuli ka, ang tingin sa ‘yo nag violate ka ng Constitution. Pero kung ikaw napasama ka sa tamang sentimiento ang tingin sa ‘yo hero,” Gonzales said.

But when asked if President Aquino was fit to be president, Gonzales said he Aquino should let go of his position.

“Kanya-kanyang opinyon ‘yan. Kung ako ang tatanungin palagay ko dapat mag step down bago makita na ‘di talaga sya fit to become President,” he said.

Trillanes accused Gonzales of being among those planning to overthrow the Aquino government, but said he did not have enough influence in the military.

Last week, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin admitted that he had received reports of coup plans but that they had yet to be validated.

Gonzales emphasized that the AFP should “always move as an institution” and study the pulse of the people carefully as defenders of the nation.

“Sa ngayon palagay ko hindi pa masyadong hinog ‘yan (coup). Nagsisimula nang magtanong tanong ang taumbayan at baka kinakailangan ng pagabago sa pagpapatakbo ng gobyerno, pero yung iba init na init na na magkaroon ng pagbabago sa pamamalakad. Nakikita natin habang tumatagal malaki ang damage kung hindi marunong ang nagpapatakbo ng gobyerbo,” he said.

Gonzales cited as an example the Luneta hostage crisis in 2010, where a bungled police operation led to the death of eight Hong Kong tourists.

“If you remember, napaka simpleng hostage-taking muntik na tayong maki gyera sa China. To me that is a very serious indication na hindi masyadong napapag-aralan ang dapat gawin ng mga nasa gobyerno. But as I said sa taumbayan dahan dahan ‘yan eh, hindi pupwedeng kumilos ang taumbayan dahil lang sa galit,” he said.

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