Palace downplays anti-Duterte protests
Credit to Author: Catherine S. Valente, TMT| Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2020 16:13:06 +0000
Malacañang on Friday dismissed as “wishful thinking” reports of people mobilizing for mass action on February 22 to call for the resignation of President Rodrigo Duterte.
Palace spokesman Salvador Panelo made the statement after Vice President Maria Leonor Robredo said she was not supporting the call for Duterte to resign.
“Baka naman nagsasabi siya ng totoo (She might be telling the truth). Let’s give her the benefit of the doubt,” Panelo said when asked if Robredo was not behind the coup plots against Duterte.
“At alam mo, ‘yung mga panawagan na iyan, wala ‘yun (You know, those ouster calls are nothing). It’s a pipe dream, a wishful thinking that will never see the light of day. Good luck to them,” he added.
Robredo had bared that she has received reports that certain groups were plotting the President’s ouster ahead of the 34th anniversary of the 1986 People Power Revolution on February 25.
“I openly say: ‘I am not a part of any call for President Duterte to step down from office.’ My only request is that we all do our job as public servants,” she said.
But the vice president has underscored the importance of accountability in public office in strengthening government institutions.
“We must be fully committed to the institutions and to the law. We should express our grievances and seek accountability from our leaders through processes in accordance with the Constitution. In that way, we can contribute to the strengthening of our institutions,” she said.
Meanwhile, Panelo said the President would just “stay at home” and would not attend any related event on this year’s anniversary of the EDSA revolution.
This would be the fourth straight year that Duterte will be skipping the ceremonies.
However, the Palace has repeatedly said Duterte’s skipping of EDSA anniversary rites had nothing to do with his alliance with the family of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, who was ousted during the 1986 popular revolt.
Duterte, who has been vocal about his admiration for Marcos, allowed the late strongman’s burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani in 2016 after a final go-signal from the Supreme Court.
The President has also repeatedly thanked Marcos’ daughter, former Ilocos Norte governor and now senator Maria Imelda Josefa “Imee” Marcos, for supporting his presidential bid in 2016. Duterte reciprocated her support by endorsing her Senate bid in the 2019 polls.
Duterte’s father, Vicente, used to be a member of Marcos’ Cabinet, while his mother, Soledad, led the Yellow Friday movement against the regime in Davao.
It was Corazon Aquino who appointed President Duterte as vice mayor officer in charge when she stripped local officials of their posts shortly after the EDSA Revolution installed her as president in 1986.