AS IF THE energy crisis, impeachment brouhaha and corruption scandal aren’t enough, retired military officers are hatching a fresh plot to unseat President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
According to Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson, he received information that the unidentified retired officers are recruiting supporters within the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) for a possible military-backed “people power revolution.”
“There is definitely an attempt but this is outside the AFP. Those behind this could only recruit a few, if at all, from inside the AFP,” Lacson was quoted in a radio interview.
“My contacts in the Philippine National Police are saying there is no indication that the coup plot will prosper. But definitely there is an attempt, mostly by retired officers,” he added in a mix of English and Filipino.
Lacson himself expressed belief that the effort to unseat Marcos won’t succeed, for as long as the AFP continues to adhere to professionalism.
“So long as the AFP is professional, and I would like to believe it is, there is no compelling reason to have a military junta or another People Power revolution,” he said.
Sometime last year, Lacson claims to have turned down calls to support a military-backed “reset” or junta amid public outrage over corruption issues. According to the legislator, “some retired military officers” had approached him to be part of a “transition council” to change the government, but he declined.
In declining the offer, he cited the 1987 Constitution provision which ends the succession of leadership with the House speaker, for which he filed the “Designated Survivor” bill that extends the line of succession to include the most senior Senate and House member.
