Lawyers' group urges arrest of RevGov proponents

A group of lawyers is urging law enforcement agencies to arrest the "self-styled revolutionaries" calling for the establishment of a revolutionary government.

Tagapagtanggol ng Watawat said calls for a revolutionary government "are an existential threat to our Republic, an unspeakable abomination to our Democracy, a brazen affront to the Sovereign Filipino People."

Talks about a revolutionary government, which President Rodrigo Duterte himself had threatened to put up in 2017, reemerged after a group of his supporters renewed calls for it over the weekend.

The President himself said Tuesday that he had nothing to do with the proposal, which reportedly came from the Mayor Rodrigo Roa Duterte-National Executive Coordinating Committee.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the proponents should be investigated

"Lukewarm response of government officials leave much wanting," Tagapagtanggol ng Watawat said.

"Revolutionary government seeks to sweep away the safeguards, the checks and balance, and the limitations on State power. It is a matter of national security, not merely a 'titillating idea' at an inopportune time," the group said.

"Mere declarations of ''no support' by the military and the police do not suffice. Law enforcement agencies must enforce the law and arrest the proponents and self-styled revolutionaries," they said.

The statement was signed by lawyers Jose Aguila Grapilon, Marlon Anthony Tonson, and Arnel Victor Valen?a.

The Integrated Bar of the Philippines earlier said calls for a revolutionary government may at best be excused as an exercise on freedom of expression.

"But it should not be allowed to progress into actions that violate existing laws," IBP president Domingo Cayosa said. — DVM, GMA News