AFP chief: Duterte just expressing trust in saying military should have stayed in power after EDSA

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines — Gen. Carlito Galvez Jr., Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff, said President Rodrigo Duterte was merely expressing his trust and confidence on the armed forces when he hinted the military should have stayed in control after ousters in 1986 and in 2001.

Galvez, who was guest speaker at the Mindanao Press Independent Council, said this on the sidelines of the safety training and media security session held at the Eden Natural Park in Davao City on Friday afternoon.

On Wednesday, Duterte suggested in a speech at an awards ceremony, that the military should not have handed back the reins of government to civilian leaders after the popular ousters of Ferdinand Marcos in 1998 and of Joseph Estrada in 2001.

"The problem with you is, every time there’s a successful revolution, you returned power to the people. Power emanates from the people, remember, not to the few," the president said then.

During the 2016 presidential campaign and occasionally since being elected president, Duterte has said he is going after the "oligarchs"—the elite who influence government policy for self gain.

"So next time if you want a revolutionary government or if you want… Sleep on it, think about it, and not just surrender and salute whoever you want to salute," the president, who has also floated the possibility of declaring a revolutionary government, said. He has also suggested the Philippines would be better led by a dictator or by a military junta than by Vice President Leni Robredo, his constitutional successor.

Both the 1987 Constitution and the 1973 charter it replaced hold that "[c]ivilian authority is, at all times, supreme over the military." Although the president is commander-in-chief of the armed forces, he remains a civilian.

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'President's trust and confidence'

Galvez declined to comment on the president's perceptions but said he was grateful for the president's trust and confidence in the military as a catalyst of change.

"Meaning, he manifested his respect and predisposition to military officers because he knows the integrity of the military and also the service orientation of the military, which is to work for the common good and for the good of the country," Galvez said.

"I'm so gratified because it only shows the trust and confidence of the president in the military," Galvez also said.

Col. Noel Detoyato, AFP public affairs chief, said the message of the president was not a reference to a potential military plot but an expression trust.

"It was his trust and confidence to the military said in another form," Detoyato said.

Duterte often visits troops and police personnel at military and Philippine National Police camps across the country and has promised them his support and protection. — with Jonathan de Santos in Manila