A country of coup rumors

For someone whose political clan went through the bitter experience of military-led power grab, Senator Jinggoy Estrada would not wish any new attempt of coup d’ etat to remove again by force a democratically elected President of the Republic. Sen. Estrada firmly believes that President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. (PBBM) enjoys the popular support of the officers and men of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

During the first year in office of the incumbent administration, Sen. Estrada credited PBBM in coming up with new measures to further improve the welfare and wellbeing of the uniformed personnel of the AFP, including procurement of more and modern equipment for the military establishment. As the chairman of the Senate committee on national defense, security, peace and reconciliation, Sen. Estrada feels confident the uniformed personnel of the AFP remain loyal to their sworn duties as the country’s protector of the people, the flag, and the Constitution.

Speaking at the Kapihan sa Manila Bay news forum last Wednesday, Sen. Estrada noted the ranks of the AFP have evolved as a strong organization since the last of the military adventurism that succeeded in the EDSA-2 power grab in January 2001. He was then Mayor of San Juan City when he got detained together with his father, former President Joseph Estrada a few months after the EDSA-2 power grab.

Then Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo who took over at Malacañang Palace had had a series of military-led coup attempts, including the failed EDSA-3 in May 2001.

It was PBBM’s late namesake father who first got deposed out of Malacañang Palace following the February 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution. But after being swept into power, even the late President Corazon Aquino suffered at least nine military putsches. Although all these coup attempts were quashed, some of them turned bloody, the ensuing instability and capital flight weakened the Philippine economy.

“I don’t want coups to happen again.  We cannot move forward when there is a coup. We are going backward and nothing will happen in our country. I don’t want it to happen again,” Sen. Estrada stressed. He doubted though any coup d’ etat attempt would prosper since “President Marcos gave everything to improve the lives of the Filipino people.”

According to coup rumors, these unnamed Generals reportedly sought out the audience and aired their gripes to former president Rodrigo Duterte who has gone back living to their family residence after his retirement. The former Davao City Mayor denied having encouraged such coup talks, citing there is no corruption issue against PBBM.

Sen. Estrada pointed out the leadership of PBBM as their present Commander-in-Chief has been building on these gains and to strengthen more the AFP capability in its shift to external defense. He, however, doesn’t see anything wrong even if Mr. Duterte admitted he had indeed been meeting and talking with retired Generals. He also does not think Mr. Duterte will get involved in an effort to oust PBBM who run and won together with daughter, now Vice President Sara Duterte in last year’s election.

“That (talking with the retired generals) is his right as a former President. I don’t think he is involved in destabilizing (the present administration), maybe they were just in usual chat they did in the past,” Sen. Estrada surmised in a mixed of Tagalog and English. He also run and won in the 12-man Senate ticket of the Unity Team of PBBM and VP Sara.

Sen. Estrada cited he has been working very closely with both Defense Secretary Gilberto “Gibo” Teodoro Jr. and AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. in crafting the more acceptable and most feasible draft of the proposed Military Uniformed Pension (MUP) bill. The House of Representatives already approved a revised version of the MUP bill principally authored by Albay Rep. Joey Salceda. It has been transmitted to the Senate with its counterpart version filed by Sen. Estrada that adopted the DND-AFP draft bill MUP bill.

The proposed MUP bill purportedly reignited sentiments among the retired Generals who supposedly sought out the support of Mr. Duterte to their cause against the present leadership of PBBM. Actually, the first MUP bill was initiated towards the end of the Duterte administration. Also authored by Rep. Salceda, the first MUP bill got stalled in the previous Congress due to contentious issues of mandatory contribution of both in the active service and retired pensioners of the AFP.

The same provision though was included in the re-submitted MUP bill to the 19th Congress. In pushing for the MUP bill, the economic managers of PBBM led by Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno warned the AFP pension has been the “elephant in the room” which nobody wants to talk about. While the MUP bill may be unpopular for the military establishment, PBBM’s economic team fears far greater danger of an imminent “fiscal collapse” if the AFP pension will be allowed to grow bigger each year. As it is at present, the national government continues to pay for its obligations through deficit spending and resort to more foreign borrowings.

Being one of the priority bills of the PBBM administration assigned to his Senate defense committee, Sen. Estrada promised to schedule the sponsorship of the MUP bill before the 19th Congress adjourn for its Christmas recess this year. However, Sen. Estrada disclosed, the approval of the proposed 2024 budget bill takes precedence before other legislative measures like the MUP bill.

Incidentally, Brawner first revealed the coup talks when he was our guest in our Kapihan sa Manila Bay news forum last Oct. 25. According to Brawner, they have monitored certain retired Generals purportedly going around the camps and some of them have even signed anti-administration statements that went viral in social media.

In this country of coup rumors, such sinister plots would not just be taken lightly.

With the usual coup suspects, their active presence supposedly behind the scene could not be ignored.