Police reject calls for Duterte-led revolutionary gov’t

POLICE on Sunday rejected calls for a revolutionary government, saying they would uphold the 1987 Constitution.

“We are under the rule of law,” police spokesman Bernard M. Banac told DZBB radio. “It’s important that we obey the Constitution.”

Last week, a group that calls itself the Mayor Rodrigo Roa Duterte-National Executive Coordinating Committee urged the President to lead a revolutionary government.

The government will last until the end of next year until the Constitution is amended for a shift to a federal government by 2022.

National Police Chief Archie F. Gamboa last week said he received an invitation to a meeting of the group about the revolutionary government.

Mr. Banac said the police would monitor the group for any potential unlawful acts.

The presidential palace said the group’s call for a new form of government was not a priority of Mr. Duterte, who is focusing on the coronavirus pandemic.

“The call to establish a revolutionary government came from a private group and the organizers are free to publicly express their opinion,” Presidential Spokesman Harry L. Roque said in a statement.

“It is an idea which is pregnant with repercussions, not the least whether or not the forces of society are ready for it,” Salvador S. Panelo, Mr. Duterte’s chief lawyer, said in a separate statement.

“If it is a workable concept, it may be late in the day. Moreover, the call of a revolutionary government must come from the people and not from a single organization or an individual,” he added. — Gillian M. Cortez