Duterte not bothered by oust report – Palace

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte is not bothered by reports some high-ranking military members are allegedly working for his ouster because of the way he handled the Chinese incursion in the West Philippine Sea.

“Hindi po nababahala ang Presidente. Alam po ng Presidente tapat siya sa saligang batas at alam po niya na nirerespeto rin ng ating mga kasundaluhan ang ating saligang batas (The President is not bothered by that. The President is faithful to the Constitution and he knows the military also respects the Constitution),” Palace spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said.

Roque dismissed as “kwentong kutsero (baseless)” reports there are military generals withdrawing support for Duterte.

The Palace official added the Chief Executive sees no reason for the military to oust him.

“Sabi nga po niya kung talagang siya ay inutil, matagal na siyang pinatalsik ng militar. So alam po niya kung gugustuhin ng militar, kahit sino ay pwede patanggal ng military (He said if he is goodfor-nothing, he could have been ousted by the military long ago. So, he knows that if the military wants to, they can oust anyone),” Roque said.

“Pero kampante po siya walang dahilan para naman umakto ng ganyan ang ating kasundaluhan (But he is confident there is no reason for the military to act that way),” he added.

Roque said Filipinos can choose their next leader next year.

“Isang taon naman po mag-eeleksiyon na pupuwedeng halalin kung sino ang gusto nating halalin. Kung tingin nila na hindi karapat-dapat ang polisiya ng Presidente, huwag iboto ang magiging kandidato ng Presidente (There will be elections next year and we can elect whoever we want. If they think the President’s policies are not good for the country then they should not vote for the candidate who will be endorsed by the President),” he added.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Department of National Defense (DND) on Sunday slammed as fake news online posts claiming some 500 military and retired military personnel plan to withdraw their support for the President.

“We denounce the irresponsible propaganda being propagated in online posts alleging a group of retired and active military officers are withdrawing their support for the President. This is fake news!” DND Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said.

“We assure our people your soldiers, airmen, sailors and marines are firmly behind the chain of command,” AFP Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana said.