As the country celebrates the People Power Revolution on Tuesday, a top police official said that all attempts to oust President Duterte will never succeed simply because they will not have the support of the police and the military.
Gen. Archie Gamboa, chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), said that while some sectors may take advantage of the event to exploit some issues against the Duterte administration anew, he expressed confidence that all of them are bound to fail.
“Every time the EDSA (People Power) is to be celebrated, these ouster plots are always being floated. But did something happen?,” said Gamboa.
Among the issues usually being raised against Duterte are human rights violations and extra-judicial killings as a result of what critics described as failed drug war, alleged corruption involving the President’s close allies, and the President’s being soft on China. “They cannot afford because they don’t have the support of the police and the military,” he added.
Duterte is believed to be popular among the soldiers and policemen over the big increase in their salaries. The President has always been supportive of the budget requests of both the police and the military on their respective projects and programs, particularly on the aspect of modernization.
Another factor that contributes to the failure of any ouster plot, according to Gamboa, is the President’s high survey ratings.
After more than three years in office, Duterte has been enjoying excellent performance and trusts survey rating results, making him one of the popular Presidents of the country.
“How can you succeed with the very high ratings of the President? That will discourage you,” said Gamboa.
The official said that he is also speaking on behalf of the military as its chief of staff, Gen. Felimon Santos, is his classmate at the Philippine Military Academy (PMA).
The PMA Class 1986 is now considered as the ruling class in both the police and the military.
In the PNP, the PMA Class 1986 has been enjoying good positions in the past three years and in fact, produced three PNP chiefs – Sen. Ronald dela Rosa, Oscar Albayalde, and now Gamboa. (Aaron Recuenco)