Duterte on ouster plot: So be it

MANILA, Philippines - For the nth time, President Duterte said he does not care about alleged moves to oust him, as reports have emerged of a purported plot to force his resignation and pave the way for a takeover by Vice President Leni Robredo.

“Eh kung yan ang suwerte ko, pasensiya (If that’s my luck, then sorry). You tell me ousted, coup ‘d etat… So be it. Assassinate? So be it,” he said yesterday in remarks at the oath taking of new appointees in Malacañang. 

He expressed his sentiment while talking about the drug problem which, he said, threatens to contaminate millions of Filipinos. His 36-minute speech was his first for the year.

“It has become a national security issue that is why I had to call in the Armed Forces to help,” he said, referring to the drug problem. “I lack personnel. I lack everything. So that’s the purpose, my purpose in life.”

The President did not make any reference to the so-called “Lenileaks,” or the controversy involving the leak of alleged email exchanges between the office of Robredo and some anti-Duterte individuals.

Last Sunday, Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said he wanted the “Lenileaks” issue to be discussed at yesterday’s Cabinet meeting. He said he had asked National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. to look into the matter.

Esperon said the “Lenileaks” issue was not included in the agenda of their meeting yesterday.

“It happens that it is not one of the matters to be taken up. That just tells you that we have other more important matters (to discuss),” Esperon told reporters before the Cabinet meeting at Malacañang.

“It doesn’t mean also that if we don’t talk about it in the media, we don’t give importance to it. It is important in the sense that we have to know the veracity of some things, as they affect our stability,” he added.

Esperon also said critics should not take the President to task for seeking an extension to his war on drugs.

“I think the voters voted for the President not because they wanted the three months but because they wanted somebody to address the problem forcefully,” the national security adviser said.

“They should not be the flavor of the month. This is something we already know. The best way to address this is to show that we are effective in anti-drugs, that we can address the problems they are concerned with,” he added.

Documents provided to the media showed that the agenda of yesterday’s Cabinet meeting included the impact of Typhoon Nina, the proposed development of Bacoor Bay, possible investors for the Railway System Project, the proposed increase in the Social Security System pension, the National Space Development Program and the establishment of the Philippine Space Agency, and preparations for the visit of Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. 

Nothing criminal

At the Department of Justice, Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II said there is nothing criminal about calling for the resignation of President Duterte, as he downplayed the need to investigate the alleged oust-Duterte plot.

“As long as they do not violate the law, there is nothing wrong with it... We don’t have a probe here in DOJ,” Aguirre told a press briefing, referring to an alleged plot uncovered through leaked email exchanges among members of the Global Filipino Diaspora Council (GFDC).

Aguirre said GFDC members, including Filipino-American philanthropist Loida Nicolas-Lewis and her sister former Commission on Filipino Overseas chair Imelda Nicolas, were not violating the law in organizing moves to force the resignation of Duterte.

“Those are a few number of people who are just making some noise – although they have the money,” he stressed.

But Aguirre emphasized that plotting to oust the President through illegal means would be another matter.

“Not all conspiracies are illegal because you can conspire to make a movement to call for the resignation of the President. That’s not illegal. But it is one thing to conspire to overthrow the duly constituted authorities,” he explained.

The DOJ chief hinted that the National Security Council is already looking into the issue.

Asked if he believes Robredo is involved in such a move, Aguirre said what he believed was that the Vice President and Duterte critic Sen. Leila de Lima stayed at Lewis’ home during their visit in the US last year.

In one of the leaked emails dated Dec. 4, 2016 which was first posted online by a blogger, Lewis supposedly told GFDC members that the only way to fight an “evil plot” to unseat Robredo is to call for Duterte’s resignation.

“After all, he promised to resign in six months if he has not solved the drug epidemic in the Philippines,” the leaked email stated.  

For Sen. Richard Gordon, it’s futile for any group to move for Duterte’s ouster as the latter still enjoys overwhelming support from the people.

“I don’t see how the President can be ousted. He is too popular,” said Gordon in a news briefing.

Asked if he thinks the plot to oust Duterte is real, Gordon said: “They can dream, can’t they?”– With Edu Punay, Jess Diaz, Paolo Romero, Marvin Sy, Emmanuel Tupas