Senator Antonio Trillanes IV on Friday denied reports that he was part of or even planning to mount a coup d’etat to oust presumptive President-elect Rodrigo Duterte.
“Let me categorically state that I am not part of or even planning any coup d’etat,” said Trillanes in a statement sent through text.
“Presumptive President Duterte was duly elected by the people and the proper way of removing him from office, in case he violates the Constitution, is through impeachment,” said the former navy officer who is on an official business trip to Hawaii.
Trillanes had earlier warned that Duterte would likely be impeached if he kept on saying that we have lost Scarborough Shoal to China as if that would weaken our claim to the disputed territory. The senator insisted the Scarborough Shoal still belonged to the Philippines and no defense or security officials of the country will say that we have already lost it to China.
However, Trillanes said that while a coup by disgruntled members of the military and the police in the future was unlikely, it would only be because they wouldn’t stand the sight of Jose Ma. Sison and his communist buddies being part of a coalition government after remorselessly killing tens of thousands of soldiers, policemen and innocent civilians in pursuit of their universally discredited ideology.
Sison is the founding chairman of the Communist Party of the Philippines.
Duterte said he is reserving the Department of Agrarian Reform, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the Department of Labor and Employment and the Department of Social Welfare and Development for communist rebels.
But he noted that those to lead these government agencies, where the “most oppressed” people are found, should be qualified educationally.
“Do we really believe that Joma Sison will truly give up his communist aspirations? Would the political detainees be given amnesty, like the Tiamsons, be swearing an oath of allegiance to our government and permanently lay down their arms?”Trillanes asked.
He said this was done to the communist rebels during the time of the late President Corazon Aquino, but he did not elaborate. “We should learn from history,” he added.
Duterte offered a Cabinet post to Sison, his former professor at the Lyceum of the Philippines in 1960, but the CPP declined the offer.
Sison said fhe CPP-NPA would only accept Cabinet position after the successful conclusion of the peace negotiations.
Returning Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson said the reported plan to grant amnesty to political prisoners should be treated with “guarded optimism.”
In a text message, Lacson stressed that the peace process, especially with a five-decade old insurgency problem, should start with good faith and goodwill.
“Nevertheless, we must look at this move with guarded optimism,”said Lacson who served as chief of the Philippine National Police.
“Having said that, there might be some legal nuances to consider. For one, most of the cases involving the political prisoners are pending with the different courts and therefore, under the jurisdiction of a co-equal branch of government which is the judiciary,” said Lacson.
“Assuming that we set that aside, a question might arise on how the cases involving soldiers and policemen allegedly committed in relation to their anti-insurgency operations will be treated,” he added.
While recognizing the President’s prerogative to choose his Cabinet members, Lacson said getting the confirmation of the powerful Commission on Appointments (CA) is another matter.
“The choice of Cabinet members is the sole prerogative and authority of the President, however, they also have to pass the scrutiny of the CA. Having said that, those who would be appointed have to take their oath of office and they must swear to protect and defend the Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines,” he said.
“Then the issue of the CPP/NPA/NDF not laying down their arms and abandoning their armed struggle to overthrow the duly constituted authority with the objective of taking over the government may have to be resolved first before they formally assume office,” Lacson concluded.