Duterte Urges Military to Correct Marcos’ ‘Fractured’ Governance
(Bloomberg) -- Former Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte called on the military to correct what he described as “fractured governance,” as the current administration began a probe into his daughter’s threat against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
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“There is a fractured governance in the Philippines today,” Duterte said in a late Monday briefing aired on SMNI News’ Facebook page. “In the face of so many errors there…it is only the military who can correct it.”
But the ex-leader said he’s not calling for the establishment of a junta, adding the military doesn’t need to mount a coup. “They can just say we no longer want to play your game, we’re out.”
Duterte also asked the military how long it would continue to support Marcos, who the ex-president again described as a “drug addict.” The anti-drug agency earlier denied Duterte’s claim, and Marcos also accused Duterte of drug use.
The former president’s remarks add to the increasing tensions between the Philippines’ top political families, which reached a boiling point over the weekend after the ex-leader’s daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, said she had contracted someone to assassinate Marcos if she is killed.
Read: The Assassination Threat Shaking Philippines Politics: QuickTake
The National Bureau of Investigation has issued a subpoena to Vice President Duterte, asking her to “shed light on the investigation” for alleged grave threat. The vice president has said her weekend remarks were taken out of context and that she was concerned for her safety.
“Common sense should be enough for us to understand and accept that a supposed conditional act of revenge does not constitute to an active threat. This is a plan without a flesh,” she said in a statement on Tuesday.
The emerging political crisis in the Southeast Asian nation comes at a time when its economy is among the fastest-growing in the region. S&P Global Ratings on Tuesday upgraded the Philippines’ credit outlook to positive, citing its fiscal reforms, improved infrastructure and policy environment that have helped keep economic growth strong over the past decade.
Marcos’ economic managers, in a joint statement, said the country is “determined to achieve an A rating and the administration is ensuring that the transformation of the economy will not be set back by political challenges.”
The former leader’s remarks drew a strong pushback from the office of Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, which warned: “The state will act resolutely to go against all unlawful attempts and challenges.”
“No motive is more selfish than calling for a sitting president to be overthrown so that your daughter can take over,” it said in a statement. “And he will go to great and evil lengths, such as insulting our professional armed forces by asking them to betray their oath, for his plan to succeed.”
Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief Romeo Brawner on Saturday said the military will stay loyal to the Constitution and remain non-partisan.
(Updates with joint statement from Marcos’ economic managers in ninth paragraph)
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