MANILA, Philippines — An opposition lawmaker on Monday claimed that the threat of destabilization was just the "fruit of the imagination" of President Rodrigo Duterte and his daughter as security agencies had already indicated that no such moves were in the offing.
Magdalo Rep. Gary Alejano said the claim of Sara Duterte Carpio, the mayor of Davao City, that some groups were attempting to destabilize the government to eventually remove the president from power was just a "mere diversion" from the failure of the chief executive to sign a bank waiver that would open his supposed bank accounts to scrutiny.
The opposition lawmaker emphasized that the first family should serve as role models and demonstrate the country's ideals and aspirations. Instead, Alejano claimed, the opposite is happening.
"However, in spite of whatever diversionary tactic that her family will use, it will not erase the fact that they have not faced the issues hurled against them," he said in a statement.
Sen. Paolo Benigno Aquino IV, a lawmaker from the opposition Liberal Party, said that the government should respect dissent in "contentious policies" such as the war on drugs, but this did not necessarily mean that there were moves to remove Duterte from office.
Aquino said that instability and political uncertainty would not be good for the nation, and these were not their objectives in expressing opposition to some of the government's actions.
"While we disagree with some policies of the administration, ayaw naming magkagulo ang Pilipinas (we don't want the Philippines to sink into chaos). Destabilization and political uncertainty are not good for anyone,” he said.
Aquino said opposite views are part of democracy as these would point out what's not working in the government.
“Hayaan nating maglabas ng saloobin ang taumbayan sa mga nakikita nilang tama o mali sa pamahalaan (Let Filipinos express their opinions on the wrong things they are seeing in government). Ito’y bahagi ng demokrasya na ating tinatamasa ngayon at hindi dapat ituring ng pamahalaan bilang destabilisasyon (This is part of the democracy that Filipinos are experiencing and should not be tied to destabilization),” the Liberal senator said.
On Sunday, Duterte-Carpio claimed that the threats of destabilization to her father's 15-month-old administration were "as real as terrorism" despite the pronouncements of defense and security officials that they had not monitored any such moves.
Carpio's statement came after a cause-oriented group, Tindig Pilipinas, labeled Duterte, 72, as "a paranoid and insecure little man afraid of losing power."
"President Duterte is losing his grip," the group said in a statement released on Saturday.
Last week, Carpio blasted three opposition senators allegedly for their "opportunism" in blasting the president after they sought his support in the past elections.
Sens. Risa Hontiveros and Francis Pangilinan admitted that they owed the president a debt of gratitude for helping them in Davao City but emphasized that their duty to the country is more important.
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Alejano, the Magdalo representative, said Duterte had been evading the issue on his supposed refusal to sign bank waivers by employing tactics such as "denials, deceptions and intimidation."
He criticized the anti-corruption efforts of the government and said that these were just for "show."
"Ang tapang-tapangan na kanyang pinapakita ay kanyang defense mechanism lamang (The president is just feigning courage, and this is just part of his defense mechanism)," the representative said.
Alejano urged the president to issue the needed bank waivers which he said would end all questions and doubts on the source of the chief executive's wealth.
Duterte and his children are accused of owning hundreds of millions of pesos in several local bank accounts.
The Office of the Ombudsman has already launched a fact-finding probe into this, but chief presidential legal counsel Salvador Panelo has indicated that they would question this move before the Supreme Court.