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Duterte’s ‘revolutionary gov’t’ would be nationwide martial law in disguise — opposition solons


Opposition lawmakers from the House of Representatives on Sunday condemned President Rodrigo Duterte's threat to declare a "revolutionary government," saying it would be nationwide martial law in disguise.

In a statement, Akbayan party-list Representative Tom Villarin said the revolutionary government that Duterte has proposed "has no constitutional basis" and is "primarily foisted based on imagined fears of a destabilization plot on his regime."

"[H]e wants to make people believe that he is doing this for the sake of our country. If that is so, we might be on our way to authoritarian rule and losing our basic freedoms," he said.

In a report on state-run PTV News on Friday, Duterte threatened to declare a revolutionary government due to "destabilization" attempts that he said were plotted by his critics, especially leftist groups.

"'Pag ang destabilization ninyo patagilid na at medyo magulo na, I will not hesitate to declare a revolutionary government until the end of my term," he said.

"I will arrest all of you and we can go to a full-scale war against the Reds," he added.

His daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, claimed in a statement on Sunday that the administration's information about the supposed destabilization plots came "from inside the offices of the people identified with the opposition."

Villarin reiterated that the political opposition has already stated that they are not involved in destabilization plots, if there are any.

He added that threats from terrorists and extremists are already capably handled by the military.

"What is being perceived as a destabilizing factor is the expanding critical dissent of our people against moves by the Duterte administration to deny accountability over EJKs, silence the opposition, impugn the integrity of critical public officials and the democratic institutions that serve as checks and balances like the Ombudsman, Commission on Human Rights, and Supreme Court," he said.

"It is only through people's power that a revolutionary government is installed, not through sheer abuse of power against our people. It is people overthrowing a regime that has lost its legitimacy and moral authority to govern," he added.

For his part, Bayan Muna party-list Representative Carlos Zarate said Duterte's threat to impose a revolutionary government should be taken seriously, saying that such a government would be a "disguised nationwide military-backed tyrannical rule."

"This is part of President Duterte's mind conditioning of the Filipino people to justify his agenda to do away with the Constitution and impose a dictatorship like [former President Ferdinand] Marcos," he said.

Zarate said that instead of making such threats, the President should listen to the calls of the people to put an end to extrajudicial killings and his "oppressive" wars, resume peace negotiations and pursue pro-people programs.

"The people fought the dictatorial Marcos regime as well as the continued attacks on the peoples rights under the succeeding administrations, the Filipino people would certainly oppose and struggle against the restoration of tyrannical rule under President Duterte," he said. — Erwin Colcol/BM, GMA News

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