No revolutionary govt under Duterte – Abella

MALACAÑANG on Wednesday clarified that President Rodrigo Duterte would not establish a “revolutionary government” during his term.

Palace spokesman Ernesto Abella issued the statement after Duterte floated the idea on Tuesday, as a way for the Philippines to make real progress.

“The President’s remarks on a ‘revolutionary government’ is an approach to resolving the country’s endemic and structural problems hindering genuine progress,” Abella said in a statement.

“However, PRRD (President Rodrigo Roa Duterte) made it clear that he will not establish a revolutionary government under his administration,” he added.

Duterte, in remarks on Tuesday in the Palace, advised his successor to establish a revolutionary government instead

of declaring martial law in the country to ensure progress.

The President said it could be the same revolutionary government led by Corazon “Cory” Aquino, which exercised wide executive and legislative powers, shortly after the ouster of Ferdinand Marcos in 1986.

“For me, my advice to a President who wants to change, do not go for martial law, gawainlangisyu (It will just be an issue). Go for a revolutionary government para

taposlahat ( so that everything will be finished),” said Duterte, whose martial law declaration over Mindanao following the attack on Marawi City received a lot of criticism. “Kungmagawani Cory, bakit hindi mo mag aw a? Ba kit may monopoly ba dito sa pag mahal natin sa bayan? (If Cory did it, why can’t you also do it? Why? Is there a monopoly here over love of country)?” he added.

“You declare all positions of the government vacant and change all. The mistake of Ma’am Aquino was to give it all back to the politicians,” Duterte said.

After the ouster of Marcos in the 1986 Edsa People Power Revolution, Aquino formed a revolutionary government and adopted the 1986 Freedom Constitution, pending the ratification of a new Charter.

Under the revolutionary government, Aquino exercised executive and legislative powers until the new Constitution was ratified and a new Congress was established in 1987.

During the 2016 presidential campaign, Duterte said he wanted to set up a revolutionary government to pave the way for a federal form of government.