MALACAÑANG on Monday, April 8, said President Rodrigo Duterte's "threat" to declare a revolutionary war and suspend the writ of habeas corpus was not directed at the people, but at the enemies of the state.
Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said these are the criminals, the people manning the illegal drug industry, the corrupt bureaucrats, the greedy politicians, the communist rebels, foreign and local terrorists, and other enemies of the people.
He also clarified that it was not a threat, but an expression of exasperation.
"It was a stern warning to those transgressors of the law that the Chief Executive will not sit idly and watch as they go about their transgressions," he said in a media briefing on Monday.
Panelo said the President's statement was not made on a whim, as his critics noted.
"If the statement came across as a threat, it was not made on a whim but brought about by a series of acts committed against the people, e.g. the bold entry of illegal drugs in the country despite the relentless war against drugs, the unmitigated corruption in the bureaucracy and the outrageous bureaucratic red tape that has stymied government projects resulting in delayed services to the people, the seeming impunity of criminals to do their nefarious trade, the onerous contract entered into by the government that prohibited it from performing government action protective of the interest of the people, the NPA's attacks and ambushes of military and PNP personnel and local government units and their continuing extortion activities, the continuing threat of terrorists that endangers the security of the state and other acts of its enemies that imperil the safety of the nation," he added.
Under the Constitution, Panelo pointed out that the President is vested with powers to quell attacks on the people and save the state.
He cited Article 2, Section 4 of the Constitution, which provides that, "The prime duty of the Government is to serve and protect the people."
"This constitutional command is for the President, as head of government, to serve and protect the people. When the very democratic institutions are being used to the detriment of the people and have become illusory for the people's interest; when their safety is imperilled, when the territorial integrity is at stake, and when the enemies of the republic are bent on bringing it down, then it becomes the constitutional duty of the President to use the powers reposed to him by the Constitution to quell the attacks on the people and to save the state," Panelo said.
Duterte issued the "threat" on revolutionary war in reaction to a statement by Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon urging extreme caution in the review of contracts entered into by the Philippine government.
Read: Duterte warns Drilon of revolutionary war
In his speech in Puerto Princesa City on April 4, Duterte said that if the opposition continues to push him, he will declare a revolutionary war, suspend the writ of habeas corpus and arrest all of them.
Duterte ordered a review of all contracts signed by the government following a court ruling that ordered the state to pay P3.42 billion to water concessionaire Maynilad Water Services Inc. (MVI/SunStar Philippines)