Not long after her much-publicized meltdown over the weekend, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has issued a subpoena to Vice President Sara Duterte over her statement that she contracted an assassin to kill President Bongbong Marcos.
The legal summon by the NBI is definitely warranted. Duterte’s remarks were not only threatening a Filipino citizen’s life, it was targeted at no less than the head-of-state himself – making it seditious as well.
These subversive tendencies are not limited to the Vice President, however. Since the unravelling of the Marcos-Duterte political alliance, members of the political dynasty from Mindanao and their allies have been explicitly undermining the Marcos administration – even calling on the military and police to withdraw their support from the President.
Former House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, a veteran politician from Mindanao and a staunch Duterte ally, publicly asked the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to withdraw their support from President Marcos. He made this declaration during an astro-turf political rally organized by Duterte allies last April, saying the military should do so to fulfil their mandate to “to protect the people and the state.”
Alvarez’s remarks were not taken lightly, even by the AFP itself, who threatened to sanction the lawmaker for making such comments. Despite being rebuked, the Duterte ally remained defiant and refused to apologize for his comments; which indicates a level of hubris that he could get away with such acts.
Such arrogance was not exclusive to the Duterte family’s former House Speaker, as no less than the political dynasty’s patriarch – the former president Rodrigo Duterte – has called on the military and police to overthrow the Marcos government himself. In an online press conference in his bailiwick of Davao City, Duterte alleged there was a “fractured government” that “only the military can correct”.
Similar to his daughter, the current vice president, the older Duterte holds significant national prominence and not long ago was the commander-in-chief of the armed forces himself. His profile only compounds the seriousness of his remarks, emphasizing the need to treat his pronouncements harshly.
The Marcos government’s executive secretary, Sec. Lucas Bersamin, issued a scathing condemnation of the former president shortly thereafter; calling his remarks “irresponsible” and an “affront to military professionalism.” General Romeo Brawner Jr., chief-of-staff of the AFP, also issued an official statement affirming the military’s commitment to the Constitution and chain-of-command.
Even without sowing insubordination within the military or the police, sedition could also be actions or remarks by public officials that deliberately undermine the commander-in-chief. When current Davao City mayor Sebastian Duterte, Inday Sara’s brother and the former president’s son, called on President Marcos Jr. to resign because he is “lazy” and has “no empathy for Filipinos” in January, that may also be categorized as inciting to sedition.
Similarly, when Harry Roque declared in another pro-Duterte astro-turf rally in Dumaguete City in May that Sara Duterte is the “true president” of the Philippines it could also be considered seditious. Electoral lawyer Glenn Chong, who initially was a Marcos ally but shifted allegiance to the Dutertes, even went as far as to call on President Marcos Jr. to “step down” during a different rally.
Chong also did not limit his tirades against the President alone, but also lashed out at First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos and threatened to “slap” her while addressing the audience. His remarks sparked a disbarment case against him for conduct unbecoming of an officer of the court, but his seditious actions should also be sanctioned accordingly.
Pro-Duterte propagandists online have also been stirring sedition among netizens, either through disinformation or amplifying comments by the talking heads. Fake news alleging that the AFP have already withdrawn support for Marcos Jr. have been multifarious and are perpetrated by these online disinformation agents.
Such actions are not only harmful because they undermine the elected government, but they have the potential to sow panic among the populace as well or to scare away potential foreign investors. These acts should not be considered democratic dissent, given they are malicious and only serve to elevate the Duterte political dynasty into power.
Under the Revised Penal Code, actions that “should incite others to commit sedition by means of speeches, proclamations, writings, emblems, cartoons, banners, or other representations tending to the same end“, are liable under the offence of inciting to sedition – despite not participating in the actual seditious act themselves. The actions of the Duterte family and their well-known allies are explicit examples of this and should be dealt with accordingly.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) have announced that they are looking into sedition raps against Vice President Sara Duterte, but they should also widen their scope to include other members of the Duterte crime family – and their allies – who have been stirring dissent and deliberately undermining the Marcos Jr. government as well.
It is not a good look – to the international community, to foreign investors desperately needed by the country, and to our own Filipino citizens – for such disinformation campaigns to continue unabated. These people must be dealt with accordingly.