Davao City First District Rep. Paolo Duterte has slammed the move of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) to investigate rallies that have called for President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. to resign.

DILG Secretary Jonvic Remulla said the agency will investigate individuals who called for Marcos to step down during a rally at Plaza Salamanca in Manila.

The calls for resignation reportedly stemmed from controversies involving alleged corruption in government, including issues linked to the President.

“That’s close to inciting to sedition. So, i-investigate namin sila. ‘Yan mga ganyang klaseng salita has no place in a civil society. We will go for truth, accountability, and justice and go to due process kung sino man ang kailangan mahatulan dito,” Remulla said.

However, Duterte criticized Remulla’s statement, saying that freedom of speech, expression, and to assemble is guaranteed under Article III, Section 4, of the 1987 Constitution.

“So Mr. Jonvic Remulla thinks rallies and criticism are ‘close to inciting sedition’? The Bill of Rights has been around since 1987 — pero hanggang ngayon parang optional reading pa rin sa’yo,” Duterte said in a Facebook post.

Duterte said dissent or criticism should not be labeled as sedition simply because it is unfavorable to those in power.

“Hindi lahat ng ayaw sa inyo = sedisyon,” Duterte added.

However, Remulla said that freedom of expression must be exercised responsibly.

“With the freedom of expression comes a sense of responsibility. Every citizen is accorded the right to free speech but it must have a corresponding responsibility to behave (unclear) responsibly,” Remulla said.

AFP FUNDING

Meanwhile, Duterte also raised questions about the alleged multi-billion-peso funds for the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

“Okay lang ba kung i-audit ng Kongreso at ng publiko kung saan napunta ang bilyones para sa AFP? Kasi sa ilang kampo, kalahati lang may armas…At yung meron, pang-museum level na M16 pa ang gamit,” Duterte said.

Duterte also alleged that there are ghost projects in the AFP.

“May mga proyekto rin daw na ghost. Not metaphorical — as in wala talagang makita. Parang budget na na-evaporate,” Duterte added.

Duterte’s statement came after a video call showed AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., Romualdez, and Co circulated online, which triggered speculation among the public.

AFP has clarified earlier that the video clip was old and taken during the approval of the long-overdue subsistence allowance for AFP personnel in Congress.

AFP claimed that the clip was twisted to create a false narrative that the military had been “bought, controlled, or compromised.”

The military called the narrative not only false but also reckless and disrespectful to unformed personnel.

RESOLUTIONS

On Tuesday, November 18, Duterte filed two House resolutions seeking an urgent congressional inquiry on the alleged P100 billion budget insertions in the 2025 national budget and a random hair follicle drug testing for all elected and appointed government officials.