Ouster plot vs. Duterte won’t fly: Sotto

“The cat is out of the bag. It does not have wings therefore won’t fly,” Sotto said in a text message. (File Photo: Senate of the Philippines/Facebook)

MANILA — Senate President Vicente Sotto III on Monday said the alleged plot to oust President Rodrigo Duterte would not fly.

“The cat is out of the bag. It does not have wings therefore won’t fly,” Sotto said in a text message.

This is in response to reports claiming that some groups are planning to oust the Chief Executive.

Senator Aquilino Pimentel III, for his part, said that while he has not heard of any ouster plot against Duterte, the public should never entertain such idea.

“I urge everybody to trust our democratic processes. In a democracy like ours, political leadership should be determined by the ballot,” Pimentel said.

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) public affairs office chief, Col. Noel Detoyato, said he does not see any destabilization threat materializing as the AFP and the Philippine National Police (PNP) are “very strong”.

“We don’t see those threats to materialize because we have a very strong AFP, we have a very strong PNP, and very strong ang support na nakikita namin (that we see) coming from the Filipinos sa ating (for this) administration. So there may be some individuals who are thinking of ousting the President but it will never materialize,” Detoyato said.