AFP will not support ‘RevGov’ call; DND chief wants probe

FILE: Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Spokesperson, Maj. Gen. Edgard Arevalo on Monday (May 6, 2019) (PNA photo by Joey O. Razon)

MANILA – The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) will not support any effort to establish a “revolutionary government,” its spokesperson said on Monday.

“It’s very clear to every soldier, airman, sailor, and marine that our unequivocal fidelity and unwavering loyalty is to the Constitution and to the flag that represents our people and the state,” Marine Maj. Gen. Edgard Arevalo said when asked to comment on the issue.

People pushing for the creation of a “revolutionary government” (RevGov) should be investigated, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said.

“No, I have not. They should be investigated,” Lorenzana said in a message to reporters when asked whether he had talked with officials and members of groups calling for a revolutionary government.

Establishing a “revolutionary government”, he said, is illegal and unconstitutional.

“Of course, it is illegal and unconstitutional. As I said, we have a popularly elected President (who) still enjoys about 80-percent approval rating,” Lorenzana said.

Earlier, he said there is no need for a “RevGov” as the country has a legally constituted government.

“The President is an elected president and enjoys popular support.

Why should there be a need for a ‘RevGov’?” Lorenzana said.

On Saturday, the People’s National Coalition for Revolutionary Government and Charter Change assembled at Clark Freeport in Pampanga pushing for the establishment of a revolutionary government and the adoption of a new federal constitution.

“The (AFP) Chief-of-Staff, Gen. Gilbert Gapay, assures our citizens that the AFP, as the armed force constitutionally mandated to protect the people and secure the state, will uphold such sacred obligation and rejects the establishment of a revolutionary government,” Arevalo said.

Meanwhile, spokesperson of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya, said calls for a “RevGov” is only a distraction from the government’s ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) containment efforts.

Malaya said a revolutionary form of government has never been considered, as it is beyond the bounds of the Constitution.

“Given that we are battling a great crisis right now, this could be a distraction from what we are doing right now,” he said in a television interview.

On Sunday, Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo brushed aside efforts to establish a revolutionary government, saying it would only matter if there is an “overwhelming call” from the public.

In a statement, Panelo said the call for a revolutionary government “must come from the people and not from a single organization or an individual.”

“It must be an overwhelming call, and there is no present perceptible people’s clamor for such,” he said. (With reports from Christopher Lloyd Caliwan/PNA)