MANILA, Philippines — The military may have blown its chances of initiating real change in the country when it returned power to politicians after helping oust unpopular administrations, President Duterte said on Wednesday.
“Kayo rin ang may kasalanan niyan (It’s your fault). You have had your chance to really change the country but you did not,” the President said in a speech at the awarding ceremonies for artists at Malacañang.
“You in the military, listen to this. You have maybe staged so many coup d’états, mutiny and everything. The problem with you is, every time there’s a successful revolution, you returned power to the people. Power emanates from the people, remember, not to the few,” he said, apparently referring to the February 1986 EDSA Revolution that toppled dictator Ferdinand Marcos and the so-called EDSA 2 in 2001 that forced president Joseph Estrada to step down. The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) played a key role in both civilian-led uprisings.
He said the country’s politicians were backers of oligarchs or were themselves the “rich people who… were able to maintain their alliances with government to milk more money.”
“So next time if you want a revolutionary government or if you want… Sleep on it, think about it, and not just surrender and salute whoever you want to salute,” he said in a mix of English and Filipino.
He also claimed he doesn’t mind getting toppled by the AFP or even by the Philippine National Police, and that they only have to tell him to leave if they are not satisfied with his leadership so he can step down peacefully.
“Now if you want to replace me, fine. I won’t be… As I’ve been telling you, just say so and I will step down if you can provide the remedy of what I said ails this country,” he said.