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NBI probes ‘Red October’ plot


The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has started investigating a supposed plot to oust President Rodrigo Duterte.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Thursday confirmed that an investigation on the so-called "Red October" plot is ongoing.

"The NBI started working on it the moment the President disclosed the plot publicly," Guevarra said in a text message. "I suppose this will be completed before October sets in."

In Malacañang, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque Jr. said it is the mandate of the NBI to probe the matter.

"So kung may intel information po ang militar, sana po i-share nila ito sa NBI nang malaman natin kung mayroon dapat parusahan," Roque told reporters.

"As I have said time and again, ang trabaho po ng Presidente as Chief Executive is to implement the laws. So kung mayroon talagang lumalabag sa mga batas natin on rebellion, coup d'état and sedition, get the process begin against them," he added.

Information from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) alleges that the "Red October" ouster plan against the President remains even if the other supposed plot on September 21, the 46th anniversary of the declaration of the Marcos-era Martial Law, did not push through.

Brigadier General Antonio Parlade, the AFP's deputy chief of staff for operations, claimed that the opposition group Tindig Pilipinas supposedly begged off joining the plot upon learning communist leaders were behind it.

Duterte had said the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), the political opposition including the Liberal Party, and the Magdalo group of Senator Antonio Trillanes IV were plotting to remove him from the presidency. All three groups have denied the President's accusation.

"This so-called Red October plot is nothing but an AFP invention. Like the rest of the AFP’s fakery, it is a poorly concocted story," the CPP said in response. "Is this a foreshadowing of a declaration of martial law by October?"

Meanwhile, Malacañang has cleared Vice President Leni Robredo, chairperson of the Liberal Party, of involvement in the supposed plot. — with Virgil Lopez/MDM, GMA News

 

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