FVR’s own plot this October

There has been so much hue and cry on the alleged power grab plot dubbed “Red October” supposedly to remove President Rodrigo Duterte from office at Malacañang Palace. It all started when President Duterte casually mentioned this during a press conference last Sept. 8 upon his arrival back to the country from his weeklong travels to Israel and Jordan for state visits.

Held at the Davao International Airport, President Duterte was visibly still smarting over the backlash of his having issued Proclamation 572 on Sept. 4, or a day before he flew abroad. The former Magdalo mutineer-turned politician Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV found himself facing possible arrest following the issuance of Proclamation 572 that declared void ab initio the amnesty grant that freed him from military detention in December 2010.

Reacting to the purported rumblings stirred by the possible re-arrest of Trillanes, President Duterte reiterated for the nth time his willingness to step down from office without any need of power grab supposedly by a military-led mutiny. Now 72 years old, the former Davao City Mayor declared anew he would just return to his home and spend his time with his grandchildren. “I’m old. I’m ready to step down anytime, short of working it out my remaining term,” he mused.

It was the first time the former Davao City Mayor discussed lengthily in public how they discovered the amnesty granted by his immediate predecessor, ex-president Benigno Simeon “PNoy” Aquino III to Trillanes was invalid from the start.

President Duterte maintained the amnesty grant to Trillanes was based on “fatally flawed document.” Therefore, the Chief Executive believes the Senator may likely go back to military jail if the Supreme Court (SC) sustains the validity of his Proclamation 572. This was after Trillanes immediately filed a temporary restraining order (TRO) to prevent his arrest and to declare Proclamation 572 illegal, if not unconstitutional.

As of this writing though, the SC has yet to rule on the TRO petition but required all parties to comment on the matter. Meanwhile, the Department of Justice (DOJ) sought the revival of the original rebellion cases against Trillanes on the account that it was not extinguished for the failure of the Senator to comply with basic requirements of the amnesty grant. The two rebellion cases of Trillanes, one on the 2003 Oakwood mutiny and the other in the Manila Peninsula siege in 2007, were thus re-opened by the two separate regional trial courts in Makati City where these two cases were originally filed.

During that same press conference in Davao City airport, President Duterte first revealed of being aware of an alleged plot of three groups that have supposedly connived to oust him from power. “There are three, watch out for the Yellow, Liberal (party), Trillanes, even the politburo (communists),” he disclosed. “Watch out, they’re dangerous,” he warned.

Without going into details of the alleged power grab, President Duterte noted how the current issues that have been hurled against his administration, including the reported rice shortage, the increase in inflation rate and revival of extrajudicial killings (EJKs) were all apparently part of their “propaganda” to remove him from office. The President claims the ouster plot against him “will go into high gear in October.”

And that’s how the “Red October” plot apparently started rolling into play.

A few days after that Davao City press conference, I bumped into former President Fidel V. Ramos (FVR) and got to ask his thoughts about the alleged latest coup rumors bared no less by the incumbent Commander-in-chief. Recognized as one of the “heroes” of the February 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution that installed into office the late president Corazon Aquino, FVR gave me a dismissive hand gesture and retorted: “That’s all politics.”

The alleged power grab scenario against President Duterte brings to mind also how then embattled former president Joseph Estrada went through similar challenges from the plotters of EDSA-2. Going through the initial moves to impeach him in Congress, Estrada revealed having uncovered “3 D’s” plot against him by his political enemies in cahoots with other anti-Estrada elements that also included the so-called “yellow” movement and the communist groups.

The “3 D’s” stood for three-step power grab starting with “dis-information” stage through black propaganda or smear drive against Estrada. This would lead to the second stage of “dis-affection” campaign to wean away his loyal followers. And the last stage is launching of actual “destabilization” moves.

As later events turned out, the “3 D’s” plot drove out Estrada from office despite being the most popularly elected President of the Philippines. The rest is history when EDSA-2 in January 2001 took place and installed into office his former Vice President, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who was backed by FVR and Mrs. Aquino, the military, the police, certain leaders of Congress, and civil society groups.

Mrs. Arroyo was luckier than her ousted predecessor because twice there were attempts to unseat her from power. And twice, the two failed Magdalo putsches led by Trillanes against her administration also got botched.

There was also purportedly an ouster plot against PNoy during his term. The supposed plotters, though unnamed, were merely described as those trying to regain their political power. Using such generic term as “enemies of reforms” who want him out of office, PNoy pointed to those who disseminated “libelous and slanderous statements” against him. But PNoy completed his six-year term of office uneventfully.

As for President Duterte’s “Red October” plot, the only sure event taking place this month is FVR’s scheduled launching of his latest book. To date, FVR has 21 volumes of books of his selected speeches, statements and anecdotes and 14 volumes of his so-called “books of sermons” which are actually compilation of his regular Sunday articles published at the Manila Bulletin. We just don’t know the plot of FVR’s latest book.