DAVAO CITY – Former President Rodrigo Duterte said he plans to meet some personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines amid what he referred to as a “fractured government” but refrained from outright endorsing a coup d’etat.
“I will be frank with them. I will lay my cards on the table, similar to what I have done here, but in greater detail. I would bring the people along and explain to them what happened to our funds,” Duterte said in a press conference on Monday evening.
The former Chief Executive said he will meet some military personnel not in secret but in a free and open discussion. He added that he does not want people to claim he is planning a coup. He clarified that he is not interested in initiating a coup d’etat.
Duterte emphasized that information is crucial. He said they are urging the military to uphold the people’s right to know how the funds have been used over time and the right to seek redress for grievances if the money has been misused or lost.
The elder Duterte was referring to the P89.9 billion excess funds of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. transferred to the National Treasury, the P250 billion taken from the Maharlika fund, and the 25 tons of gold reserves sold amounting to P129 billion.
“It is not my business to have a loyalty check. It is for the military to check if they are still loyal to the Constitution — what it means to them and what it means to the people. I’ll give them all the options. They know they are serving a drug addict commander-in-chief,” he said.
Duterte said he would tell the military that the transfer of the PhilHealth and Maharlika funds is malversation and challeng them to speak up and play their part because they are supposed to be protectors of the Constitution.
The AFP rejected Duterte's explicit desire for them to get involved in politics and that loyalty tests among troops were unnecessary, said AFP spokesperson Col. France Margareth Padilla in a press conference on Tuesday, November 26.
Padilla said the AFP remains a non-partisan organization whose allegiance is to the Constitution. She added that the AFP would continue to stay within the line of command even as the political rivalry between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and the Dutertes intensified.