By Arjay L. Balinbin
President Rodrigo R. Duterte last Monday said that “some soldiers” are “in cahoots” with the Liberal Party to overthrow him.
“Ang sakit ko dito, kayong mga Liberal pati ‘yung iba sa military, nakipag-ugnayan sila (What hurts me is that the Liberal Party and some members of the military, they connived),” Mr. Duterte said in media interview during his visit to wounded soldiers at the Camp Teodulfo Bautista Station Hospital in Jolo, Sulu last Monday, Sept. 24.
He added: “Diyan ako naghihinakit sa kanila ‘yung mga sundalo na ‘yan. Hindi na bale magalit sila sa akin, wala ‘yon. But to go into a cahoots with the kalaban…Ako isa lang ako eh…”
(That is my ill feeling towards these soldiers. It does not matter to me if they got mad with me. It’s nothing. But to go into cahoots with the enemies… I’m alone…)
For his part, Presidential Spokesperson Harry L. Roque, Jr. clarified during a press briefing at the Palace on Tuesday that Vice-President Maria Leonor G. Robredo is “not amongst those specifically named to be part of the conspiracy.”
He added: “She is after all the second highest elected official. She took an oath to support the Constitution, and she should not and she’s expected not to support any unconstitutional means to remove the President.”
Ms. Robredo, in a statement, denounced “baseless allegations” linking the opposition to an ouster plot against Mr. Duterte.
“We must recall that branding critics as criminals was the same draconian tactic employed by the Martial Law Regime to strip the opposition of its voice,” she said.
In a separate statement, she said: “Recent allegations by key leaders of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) regarding a supposed plot to oust the President would be laughable if they were not so dangerous. For while the claims themselves are absolutely ridiculous, the attempt to delegitimize various opposition groups and personalities by linking them to an alleged extra-constitutional ‘plot’ is alarming.”
“A free, independent, and critical opposition plays an indispensable role in our democracy. It provides a necessary check on an incumbent administration – keeping it honest, responsive, and accountable – ultimately ensuring better governance and better service to our people. This is a principle protected and enshrined in our Constitutionally guaranteed rights to free speech and to petition the government for redress of grievances. Our men and women in the AFP took the same oath as me to uphold and defend the Constitution. Our first responsibility is to maintain fidelity to this commitment, regardless of any personal affiliations,” Ms. Robredo explained.

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