Alejano denies Magdalo’s role in supposed oust plan vs. Duterte

Magdalo party-list Representative Gary Alejano on Tuesday denied that his party is involved in the supposed ouster plot against President Rodrigo Duterte.

Alejano made the remark in response to presidential spokesperson Harry Roque's statament tagging Magdalo as among those behind the plan to remove Duterte from his post.

"I categorically deny that the Magdalo is involved in any oust plot against the President," Alejano said in a statement.

"The Magdalo is performing its mandate as members of the opposition under the check and balance system of our democratic government. The essence of this is to strengthen democracy and not to destabilize it," he added.

In an Unang Balita interview on Tuesday, Roque said has become Magdalo's past time to destabilize governments, referring to its role in several attempts to overthrow the Arroyo administration.

"Itong grupong Magdalo, talaga namang ito 'yung kanilang hobby, magpatalsik ng gobyerno bagama't hindi naman sila nagwawagi," he said.

But Alejano insisted that the allegations of the Magdalo's supposed involvement in the destabilization of the government is merely "a product of imagination and paranoia of the Duterte administration."

"This is only meant to divert the attention of the people from the present economic woes they themselves have failed to address," he said.

"If there is someone destabilizing the present government, they should not look beyond themselves for they are ones destabilizing it," he added.

Alejano said that the communists are the constant enemies of the government, and Magdalo members, being former soldiers, are aware of it.

"What is clear to the people, especially before the eyes of soldiers who were assigned in Mindanao, is it was Duterte who actually coddled the New People’s Army (NPA) in Davao City. He himself admitted in public that he provided millions to NPA," he said.

Alejano, likewise, pointed out that it was Duterte who appointed personalities "allied to the communists" to his Cabinet, some of them continue to occupy government positions.

"Si Duterte ang kumakanlong at kumukunsinte sa mga komunista. Sino ngayon ang sumisira ng ating demokratikong gobyerno? Walang iba kundi ang nakaupong Pangulo," he said.

Apart from the Magdalo, Roque said the Liberal Party (LP) was also behind the ouster plot against the President.

But former Quezon City Rep. Erin Tañada, LP's vice president for external affairs, has already denied that they are planning to oust Duterte by October. — MDM, GMA News