DOJ to 'seriously investigate' inciting to sedition raps over calls for revolutionary gov't

Published August 25, 2020 05:53 PM By NICOLE-ANNE C. LAGRIMAS,GMA News

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said Tuesday that his department will "seriously investigate" any complaint for inciting to sedition that may be filed over calls to establish a revolutionary government.

Guevarra said he does not agree with proposals for a revolutionary government considering that these aim to "disregard" the present Constitution.

"Insofar as these calls suggest the tearing down of existing political institutions and lead to social disorder, any complaint for inciting to sedition will be seriously investigated by the DOJ," he said in a message to reporters.

This comes after lawyer Christian Monsod, one of the framers of the 1987 Constitution, said the DOJ should investigate the proponents of a revolutionary government for sedition.

President Rodrigo Duterte had threatened to establish a revolutionary government in 2017 if alleged moves to "destabilize" the government continued, but he has distanced himself from a recent call by his supporters.

The police, military, and the defense chief have also said they do not support the proposal.

Guevarra explained that the two times the Philippines had a revolutionary government — in 1897, during the revolt against Spanish colonizers, and in 1986, during the coup d'etat and the People Power Revolution — were "attended with some sort of violence."

"Nothing of that sort obtains under the present circumstances," he said in a message to reporters. 

"The Constitution is well in place, all political institutions are functioning normally, the head of government continues to have the support of the vast majority of the people," he added.

Guevarra said that changes to the Constitution may be done without resorting to extra-constitutional methods.

"Impatience is not a ground to overthrow a constitutional government and replace it with one whose undefined powers are not derived from the sovereign will of the people," he said.

The Integrated Bar of the Philippines earlier said calls for a revolutionary government may be considered an exercise of the freedom of expression but should not be allowed to progress to illegal acts.—AOL, GMA News
 

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