DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/26 November) — Former President Rodrigo Duterte said the government under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., whom he called a “drug addict” anew, is now “heavily fractured.”
“There is a fracture now in the governance of Marcos. It cannot be remedied, there is no relief in sight, it is only the military who can correct it. How? I do not know… Mabigat na fracture ito (This is a heavy fracture),” Duterte said in a press conference at the Grand Men Seng Hotel here late Monday evening.
Explaining the “heavy fracture” in government, Duterte said that came to be as Marcos and his cousin House Speaker Martin Romualdez have been allegedly “in cahoots” to change the 1987 Constitution.
Should they succeed, the possible scenario would be that “Romualdez would act as the prime minister while Marcos would be the ceremonial president,” Duterte said.
However, the former president, who is running for city mayor in next year’s election, clarified that he is “not inciting” the military to mount a coup against the Marcos administration because of this “heavy fracture” in the government.
Duterte said that he is willing to talk with military officials about his pleas to the national government, noting that the Philippines is being led by an alleged drug addict.
During the first Hakbang ng Maisug “prayer rally” held here last January 29, Duterte first called Marcos “bangag” (high on drugs) with a “hungry for power” wife Liza. Marcos replied days later that Duterte’s pronouncement could be the effect of the latter’s fentanyl use.
“Ibigay ko lahat sa kanila na options, alam nila na (I will give them all the options, they know that) they are serving a commander-in-chief who is a drug addict. Huwag nilang bolahin ang Pilipino na hindi alam nila yan (They should not deceive the Filipinos that they do not know it),” Duterte said.
“Civilian man ako, wala na man akong power (I am a civilian, I have no power) to order them [the military]… I am not enjoining them, I am not telling anything. Ito lang ang tanong ko sa military: hanggang kailan kayo magsuporta ng drug addict (This is my question to the military: until when will you support a drug addict)?” Duterte stressed.
Duterte said he would want “to talk with the lieutenant colonels, colonels, majors, and the other lower ranks rather than directly to Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief General Romeo Brawner, as it is “useless” to talk to the latter.
In a statement, the AFP said it remained focused on “fulfilling its mandate with professionalism, dedication, and loyalty to the Constitution and the chain of command.”
The former president also shrugged off social media calls of Duterte supporters for a “people power,” in support of Vice President Sara Duterte, who recently spewed invectives against Marcos, his wife, and Romualdez.
A House panel has been investigating, in aid of legislation, the alleged misuse of public funds at the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and the Department of Education when Sara was still the secretary.
Following the order of House to hold in contempt OVP chief of staff Zuleika Lopez, Sara last Saturday said she hired an assassin to kill Marcos, his wife Liza, and Romualdez if she gets killed.
The president on Monday, without naming the vice president, slammed the apparent threat to his life. On the other hand, Romualdez and his allies in the House slammed the vice president for her pronouncement.
The former president said that “nobody now can correct Marcos and Romualdez in terms of how they lead the country.” (Ian Carl Espinosa / MindaNews)
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