Former president Rodrigo Duterte’s staunch ally Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa came to his defense on Wednesday, saying that his remarks to the military were not seditious.
“Wala naman siyang sinabi na mag-kudeta kayo, wala naman siyang sinabi na atakihin niyo ang Malacañang. Wala naman siyang sinabi na ganon, ‘di ba? Ni-remind lang niya ang military sa papel ng military dito sa ating bansa,” Dela Rosa said in an ambush interview.
(He didn’t say that we should have a coup d’etat, he didn’t say anything about attacking Malacañang. He didn’t say anything like that, did he? He just reminded the military of its role in this country.)
Asked if Duterte’s remarks could be considered seditious, Dela Rosa said, “For me, it’s not.”
In a press conference on Tuesday, Duterte said “only the military” can “correct” the “fractured governance” in the country.
His words come after his daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, declared that she had contracted someone to assassinate President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. if she were killed—a statement she has since claimed has been “maliciously taken out of context.”
Dela Rosa said he agrees with the former president whom, he said, only presented “available options for the military” and educated the military on its role to defend the Constitution.
“‘Yun naman talaga ang papel ng [That is the role of the ] military to stabilize, not to destabilize, the country. Sino ba ang [Who is the] ultimate defender of the Filipino people?” Dela Rosa said.
On Tuesday, AFP spokesperson Colonel Francel Margareth Padilla requested that the military be spared from any political issues, emphasizing that it is a “non-partisan” organization.
The Department of Justice last Monday said it will investigate the remarks of former President Duterte, saying they “border[ed] on sedition.” — BM, GMA Integrated News
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