PERRYSCOPE
Perry
Diaz
Every time President Rodrigo Duterte has some
health problem, all his political allies get nervous. At his age, 75
years old, he suffers from a multitude of health issues, including an
autoimmune disease that can potentially have serious complications.
He revealed the
condition, myasthenia gravis, while he was visiting in Moscow in October
2019. The condition causes muscle weakness, and can result in
drooping of eyelids, blurred vision as well as weakness in one’s
extremities. It could cause breathing problems that would require
the use of a ventilator.
Duterte also suffers
from daily migraines and ailments including Buerger’s disease, an illness that
affects the veins and the arteries of the limbs, and is usually due to smoking.
But as early as
November 2017, Duterte’s supporters urged him to declare a revolutionary
government (RevGov). However, he insisted he would not be doing so
and hoped he would not be compelled to do so. “I am a lawyer and I
am following the Constitution. [But] only when the Republic of the Philippines
is dying, then maybe.” But what if Duterte himself is
dying? Would he be compelled to declare a RevGov? This
did not bode well with Vice President Leni Robredo who was alarmed over the
participation of some government officials to a proposal to place the country under
a RevGov.
To quell the growing
number of pro-RevGov advocates, Duterte said that establishing a RevGov at this
time was like “looking for a headache.” He probably figured out that
it’s too soon to talk about RevGov without the solid support of the military.
Reformist government
In August 2017,
Duterte said that the Marcos family had offered to return to the government
some of the family’s disputed hidden wealth, including “a few gold
bars.” Duterte said he would accept the Marcos offer and would appoint a
retired justice of the Philippine Supreme Court to negotiate with the family on
the government’s behalf. Duterte said the Marcos family did not ask
for immunity from suit in exchange for returning their wealth to the
government. But nothing came out of the deal due to strong
objections from the public.
In December 2017, the
Marcoses renewed their proposal to return their hidden
wealth. Through the Marcos family lawyer Oliver Lozano, a proposal
was made to form a compromise agreement with the Marcos family to declare a
“reformist government” to enable Duterte to do acts which are implied but not
prohibited by law, including the inking of a “compromise agreement” with the
Marcoses.
In a letter sent to
Special Assistant to the President Bong Go, Lozano said: “Under a Reformist
Government, akin to ‘REVGOV’, the President can exercise all powers impliedly
provided and unprohibited by the Law and Constitution in order to promote
Public Welfare, Protect the People and give Social Justice for All vis-à-vis your
immunity from suit.”
Lozano said that
unlike in a RevGov, the Constitution and all existing laws would remain in
effect under his proposed reformist government. The compromise deal
with the Marcoses would entail the “sharing” of their wealth “in order to
promptly give unifying Social Justice for All through Massive Economic
Development and World-Class Rehabilitation as well as enable the government to
pay its foreign and local debts.” In other words, the Marcoses would
turn over a portion of their alleged unexplained wealth that they allegedly
stole from the people. And by doing that, they would be absolved
from any lawsuit or claim against the Marcoses. They’re basically
buying their freedom. Sounds enticing.
But for some reason,
nothing came out of Lozano’s proposal. Somehow the Marcoses
chickened out and decided to keep their wealth. There is probably a
better way to keep their wealth and still reign supreme in
government. This came to light in August 2018 when Duterte announced
that he could step down if Bongbong Marcos succeeds in overturning his 2016
vice-presidential election defeat to Leni Robredo.
Duterte’s term ends in
2022 but he has spoken often recently about quitting before that, expressing
frustration about his failure to tackle illicit drugs and corruption in
government.
Presidential
succession
But he was reluctant
to step down because a constitutional succession would mean handing power to
Vice-President Robredo. But Robredo belongs to the opposition
Liberal Party, which means the entire government bureaucracy would be turned
over to the Liberal Party loyalists and their “Yellow Army” if Duterte steps
down.
While waiting for the
recount ordered by the Supreme Court, a complex process that is expected to be
resolved within six months, the question is: Who will win the
recount? Robredo says she won fairly. But ultimately, the
Supreme Court sitting as Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET) will make the
decision. But Duterte appointed 11 of the 15 justices of the Supreme
Court, which begs the question: Would they vote impartially without regard to
who appointed them? Although, the final tally of the recount will be
based on what is deemed acceptable by the PET usually based on the “findings”
and recommendations of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), which could be
subjective.
While the PET is still
in the process of recounting the 2016 vice-presidential votes, a video surfaced
on August 25, 2020 from Duterte’s supporters who called to overturn the
constitution and form a “revolutionary government.”
Federal System of
government
The group called the
“Mayor Rodrigo Duterte-National Executive Coordinating Committee” (MRD-NECC)
announced they would march to the Malacanang Palace to announce a “People’s
Declaration of a Revolutionary Government” after gathering an unspecified
number of signatures on a petition.
According to a letter
from the group’s spokesman Bobby Brillante, they would “appeal” to Duterte “to
lead” this government until December 31, 2021, after which elections would be
held under a new constitution.
The MRD-NECC wants to
replace the country’s presidential form of government with a federal system,
and it believes the only way to do this is for Duterte to form a RevGov and
overturn the 1987 constitution.
But here’s the rub:
the RevGov they have in mind could also prevent Vice-President Robredo from
taking over should Duterte become incapacitated. With rumors
swirling around that Duterte is seriously ill and that he recently visited a
medical facility in Singapore, there would be a constitutional crisis on the
presidential succession if Robredo were replaced by whomever Duterte anoints as
his successor, which would likely be Bongbong Marcos.
Two governments
But veteran lawyer
Romulo Macalintal said that if Duterte were to heed the group’s call it would
lead to a situation where there would be “two kinds of government: a
revolutionary government headed by Duterte and a democratic government headed
by Robredo.”
Which reminds me of
what happened on February 25, 1986 during the People Power
Revolution. That morning, Cory Aquino – who claimed she won the snap
election -- was inaugurated as President of the Philippines in a simple
ceremony at the Club Filipino in Greenhills.
An hour later, Marcos
held his inauguration at Malacanang Palace. On the Palace balcony,
Marcos took the Oath of Office. The Marcoses finally emerged on the
balcony of the Palace before 3,000 Marcos loyalists who were shouting,
"Capture the snakes!”
End of an era
In the afternoon,
Marcos phoned U.S. Senator Paul Laxalt asking for advice from the White
House. Laxalt told him to “cut and cut clean,” to which Marcos
expressed his disappointment after a short pause. Later Marcos
talked to his erstwhile Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile – who was the leader
of the People Power revolt -- asking for safe passage for him, his family, and
close allies.
At midnight, the
Marcoses boarded a U.S. Air Force helicopter and flew to Clark Air
Base. From there, the Marcoses flew to exile in
Hawaii. Marcos died on September 28, 1989, a broken man.
On September 7, 1993,
Marcos’ remains were flown to the Philippines and kept in a crypt in his
hometown, Batac, Ilocos Norte.
On November 18, 2016,
the Supreme Court allowed Marcos to be buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani
(Heroes Cemetery) in Fort Bonifacio, Metro Manila. Thus the life
story of Ferdinand E. Marcos came to an end.
But the saga of the
Marcos family continues. Marcos’ son Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.
wants to follow his father’s footsteps: become president of the
Philippines. And he’s pretty close to achieving it. The
only thing that would prevent him is Vice-President Leni Robredo who won the
election but is being contested by Bongbong. It’s now up to the
Supreme Court to decide who won the election.
And this is where the
MRD-NECC’s proposal to form a revolutionary government comes in. If
MRD-NECC succeeds in doing so, a situation could arise where there would be two
kinds of government: a RevGov headed by Duterte and a democratic government headed
by Robredo. As a consequence, a civil war could break out between
the Duterte and Marcos supporters against the “Yellow Army” of the Liberal
Party. It’s déjà vu all over again: a repeat of the 1986 People Power
Revolution when Cory Aquino and Ferdinand Marcos held separate presidential
inaugurations.
However, Marcos fled
the country upon the suggestion of US President Reagan, which makes one wonder:
Would US President Trump intervene just like Reagan did? And if so,
whom would he support: Duterte’s revolutionary government or Leni
Robredo?
No comments:
Post a Comment