SOME members of the opposition could only be riding on the issue on establishing a revolutionary government to instill fear among the public, Malacañang said Saturday.
“[H]indi lang naman po mga kaalyado ang nagsasabi na kailangan ng RevGov. Ginagamit din po yan ng oposisyon para takutin ‘yung taumbayan,” Palace spokesman Harry Roque claimed in a news briefing in Zamboanga City, without clarifying whom he was alluding to.
“Bakit naman magnanais ang isang panalo na Presidente na mag-RevGov nang walang dahilan… Magdedeklara lang siya ng RevGov kung naghihingalo na ang ating Republika, at hindi po ‘yan nangyayari ngayon,” he added.
Roque, who maintained that they see no basis to call for a revolutionary government “ for now,” earlier slammed the political opposition for making a fuzz out of the President’s pronouncements.
In a phone patch interview last Thursday, Roque likewise told them to “move on” and find another issue to bring up against President Rodrigo Duterte.
“Even if they are government officials, they [still] have their personal beliefs,” Roque then said.
He asked: “Well to the opposition, don’t you have another issue other than [opposing calls for a] revolutionary government?… Let’s finish this revolutionary government talk and move on. To the opposition, just find another issue.”
Earlier, Vice President Leni Robredo raised alarm over the possible declaration of a revolutionary government, which might mean “revolting” against duly-established authority.
Critics of the President earlier taunted the mass actions Duterte’s supporters across the country urging him to declare a revolutionary government as a “grand flop”—as they warned of increased attacks by the administration against human rights defenders, critics, and activists.
Duterte, who himself had earlier floated the establishment of a revolutionary government, appeared to have balked at his own pronouncements, saying that he was like “looking for a headache”—adding that the military will overthrow him if he attempts to establish a dictatorship in the country.
He also said that calls for him to declare a revolutionary government were simply “just to draw publicity.”