House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez on Tuesday said Congress could not do anything if President Rodrigo Duterte declares a revolutionary government.
“For me, the President has spoken about [declaring a revolutionary government] for a long time. And on the basis of the 2016 election results, he got a huge mandate,” Alvarez said in a press conference.
“That means the people are in favor of it,” he added.
In the May 2016 elections, Duterte garnered more than 16 million votes, at least 6 million votes over his closest rival Manuel Roxas II.
Alvarez pointed out that as early as the campaign season before the presidential elections in May 2016, the President had already raised the possibility of a revolutionary government.
“If you would recall, during the campaign, the President already said that, so that’s not news. He said, ‘if I don’t achieve the change I want for the country because of many obstacles, then I will exercise that option of a revolutionary government,” he said.
Alvarez and House Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas apparently belittled the threat of a revolutionary government, jesting about it in the news conference.
“During the campaign, he even threatened to abolish Congress,” Fariñas chimed in.
Alvarez, for his part, said, “So what can we do about it? It’s not like we can say ‘no’.”
The house speaker jested that they would actually benefit if the President abolished the Congress under a revolutionary government.
“It’s fine for me. I won’t have a job anymore. Majority Leader and I will just go around. A road trip sounds fun,” he added.