Senators slam group's call for revolutionary government amid COVID-19 crisis
MANILA, Philippines — At least four senators have slammed recent calls made by a group of Duterte supporters for the declaration of a "revolutionary government" amid the COVID-19 crisis.
"Hindi dapat seryosohin ang panawagan para sa revolutionary government. (Calls for a revolutionary government should not be taken seriously.) This is yet another distraction from the real crisis we are facing today, which is the coronavirus pandemic," Sen. Risa Hontiveros said on Monday.
"The public needs good healthcare and jobs, and that requires good governance, not a so-called 'rev-gov,'" she added.
Meanwhile, Sen. Nancy Binay took to Twitter on Sunday to put the group's calls on blast.
Hindi nakaka flatten ng curve ang RevGov ???? #noTOREvGov #yestotheConstitution
— Senator Nancy Binay (@SenatorBinay) August 23, 2020
"Hindi nakaka flatten ng curve ang RevGov. (RevGov will not flatten the curve,)" she said.
Supporters of the chief executive on Saturday assembled at the Clark Freeport to call for a "revolutionary government" to be headed by the president himself until June 30, 2022. MRRD-NECC claimed to be made up of numerous civil society groups and non-government organizations supporting Duterte and urged Filipinos to join calls for the adoption of a new Constitution.
In response to this, Sen. Ping Lacson told radio DWIZ during an interview that establishing a revolutionary government under the administration was pointless and could be a way to circumvent the democratic process.
On Sunday, Sen. Kiko Pangilinan expressed similar concern for the issues a revolutionary government might raise for democracy in the country.
"While the moves of the individuals behind the revolutionary government should be taken with a grain of salt, we must remain vigilant to thwart it as such could be a thinly-veiled dictatorship that would concentrate power in the hands of the president — which freedom-loving Filipinos should resist."
"The nation is already grappling with hunger and joblessness as a result of the lockdown, PhilHealth mess, and lack of funds. The Filipinos will get nothing out of this distraction," he further said.
Pangilinan is chairman of the Senate Committee on Constitutional Amendments and Revision of Codes, the panel that has jurisdiction over proposed measures to amend the 1987 Constitution.
Malacañang on Sunday distanced itself from the group's calls for a revolutionary government, saying that, while the group is free to express its opinions, the administration is focused on addressing the pandemic.
"The call to establish a revolutionary government came from a private group and the organizers are free to publicly express their opinion...The focus, however, of the administration is addressing COVID-19 and mitigating its socioeconomic impact," presidential spokesman Harry Roque said. — with a report from Franco Luna
The Mayor Rodrigo Roa Duterte – National Executive Coordinating Committee (MRRD-NEC) has revived calls — also made in 2017 —for the declaration of a "revolutionary government" headed by President Rodrigo Duterte, the head of the actual and constitutional government.
Government officials have disavowed if not oppenly opposed the proposal.
Follow this thread for updates on this attempt at charter change.
Photo: In this July 25, 2020 file photo, the Mayor Rodrigo Roa Duterte National Executive Coordinating Committee (MRRD-NECC) held a motorcade calling for a Charter Change and Cultural Revolution on Saturday from Kalaw St. in Manila to Barasoin Church in Bulacan. On August 22, it called for the declaration of a 'revolutionary government'.
Sen. Francis Pangilinan says President Rodrigo Duterte's oppenness to discuss the idea of a revolutionary government is irrelevant in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Dagdag sa problema at hindi solusyon sa problema yang rev gov na yan," Pangilinan says.
The opposition senator stresses that the open discussion that should be done is addressing the immediate concerns such as deaths, the spread of the coronavirus, hunger and joblessness of Filipino citizens.
Bishop Broderick Pabillo, Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese of Manila, says calls for a revolutionary government is tantamount to betraying the Philippines.
"That is not fair and that is immoral... that is seditious, that is being a traitor to the country," Pabillo says.
The bishop adds that such calls is only being used by those in power to hold on to their positions.
Ang panawagang magtayo ng revolutionary government ay isang pagtataksil sa bayan, ayon kay Bishop Broderick Pabillo, Apostolic administrator ng Archdiocese of Manila. pic.twitter.com/CIKal4DBQO
— News5 (@News5PH) August 24, 2020
"A revolutionary government is repugnant to constitutionalism. It should be discouraged and denounced, as we do now. There is no legal, factual, practical or moral basis for a revolutionary government under the present circumstances," the Integrated Bar of the Philippines says.
"The persistent and growing ills afflicting our country are better addressed by honest, efficient, transparent, accountable, and democratic governance under the rule of law rather than by questionable shortcuts or adventurism that exacerbate rather than solve the problems," IBP also says, adding it is bound to uphold the Constitution.
The Philippine National Police and the Department of the Interior and Local Government has nott taken action on the call for a "revolutionary government" by the Mayor Rodrigo Roa Duterte – National Executive Coordinating Committee (MRRD-NEC).
"The call for a revolutionary government may at best be excused as a constitutionally guaranteed freedom of expression, but it should not be allowed to progress into actions that violate existing laws," IBP says.
The Confederation for Unity, Recognition and Advancement of Government Employees (COURAGE), an organization of state workers, slams the call for a "revolutionary government" by the Mayor Rodrigo Roa Duterte - National Executive Coordinating Committee.
"These clowns should be called out for diverting the people's attention in yet another nonsensical hullabaloo. It is indeed foolish of the MRRD NECC bloc to call for the establishment of a 'revolutionary' government while their esteemed President Duterte and the armed forces are hellbent in silencing critics by labeling them as insurgents. Also, clamoring for such change is an admission that the four-year-old Duterte Administration is inutile even in these most pressing times," COURAGE Secretary General Manuel Baclagon says in a press release.
He says the group should "get your acts straight and tell the president to focus on devising a plan to curb the spread of the pandemic, based on real free mass testing and treatment for the direly afflicted of COVID-19."
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