Davao del Norte 1st district Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez (Facebook)

Former House Speaker, Davao del Norte 1st district Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez insisted on Tuesday, April 16 that his remarks in Tagum City over the weekend were neither seditious nor illustrative of "disorderly conduct". 

This, after some of his congressman-colleagues floated the possibility of filing sedition charges against him by the Department of Justice (DOJ), as well as an ethics complaint in the House of Representatives. 

Alvarez said in a statement that under the Revised Penal Code (RPC), sedition is committed by rising publicly and tumultuously to attain by force, intimidation, or by illegal means, unlawful objectives. 

"On the other hand, the general clause for an ethics complaint, based on the Rules of the House of Representatives, warrants disciplinary action for 'disorderly conduct'; which was the ground used to expel former [Negros Oriental 3rd district] Rep. Arnie Teves last year," read the statement. 

“Paano naging seditious o disorderly conduct yung sinabi ko, eh peaceful nga at orderly (How did my remarks become seditious or constitute disorderly conduct, when everything was peaceful and orderly)," Alvarez said. 

In his speech in front of his constituents in Tagum City on Sunday, Alvarez urged the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to withdraw its support from President Marcos so the latter would be forced to step down. 

The Davao del Norte lawmaker is widely known to be a close ally of former president Rodrigo Duterte, who is the father of Vice President Sara Duterte. It is the younger Duterte who will take over Malacañang should Marcos resign. 

The main motivation for Alvarez's statements is his belief that the pro-American Marcos administration is leading the Philippines to war with China over the West Philippine Sea (WPS) issue. 

Alvarez also claimed that there's "dissatisfaction" in the AFP. 

"Sa kasaysayan natin, naka-ilang coup na sila dati. Kaya ako nakikiusap, linunok ko na pride ko, nagmakaawa: walang putukan, walang tumultuous o public uprising, at walang force o intimidation,” he said. 

(They've launched multiple coups before based on our history. That's why I'm pleading, I swallowed my pride and I'm on my knees: no firefight, no tumultuous or public uprising, and no force or intimidation.) 

HAVE YOU READ THIS? 

https://mb.com.ph/2024/4/15/house-ethics-case-warranted-alvarez-told-to-be-cautious-with-his-words

Alvarez, a lawyer, noted that the soldiers can also resign as a way to withdraw their support "if they no longer believe in the direction of the leadership". 

As for his response to his colleagues, the former House Speaker said: “I respect and have strong bonds of friendship with them, lalo na ang mga tiga-Mindanao, kasi alam nila yung hirap na pinagdadaanan namin (especially those from Mindanao, since they know the challenges that we went through)." 

"Pero tingnan din sana nila sentimento ng tao, lalo na sa Mindanao. At tandaan na ang primary duty namin ay to serve the interest of our constituents,” he said. 

(But I hope they would also look at the sentiments of the people, especially in Mindanao. And they should remember that our primary duty is to serve the interest of our constituents.)