Palace dismisses coup rumors vs. Duterte

President Rodrigo Duterte is not bothered by rumors of a supposed looming military uprising against his government, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said Monday.

"Kuwentong kutchero po 'yan. Alam ng kasundaluhan na hindi po panahon para riyan [That is an outrageous tale. The soldiers know that this is not the time for that]," Roque said in a Palace briefing.

Roque made the response a day after Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff Gen. Cirilito Sobejana belied a supposed statement of retired and active military officers withdrawing their support to Duterte due to his supposed weak stance against the Chinese incursions in the West Philippine Sea.

According to Roque, there is no reason for the military to forcibly remove the President from office.

"Hindi nababahala si Presidente. Nirerespeto niya ang Saligang Batas, nirerespeto ng kasundaluhan ang Saligang Batas. Kung siya ay inutil, matagal na siyang tinanggal ng militar. Pero walang dahilan para riyan," he said.

(The President is not bothered. He respects the Constitution, the military respects the Constitution. If the President was indeed useless, he would have been ousted by the military a long time ago.)

Roque also said there is no need for the President to speak on Chinese incursions in the West Philippine Sea, given that the heads of the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of National Defense explicitly called out these Chinese incursions, as well as filed diplomatic protests against China because of it.

"The utterances of the alter-egos are the official utterances of the President, unless they are renounced by the President," Roque said.

The UN Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague already issued a ruling in July 2016 rejecting China's claim of sovereignty in the entire South China Sea.

Th ruling, which stemmed from a case filed by the Philippines against China in 2013 during the Aquino administration, also ruled that the Spratly Islands, Panganiban (Mischief) Reef, Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal and Recto (Reed) Bank are within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone.

Beijing, however, has refused to recognize the Philippines' victory, and Chinese vessels, including warships, continue to be spotted in the West Philippine Sea. —KBK, GMA News