「日刊まにら新聞」ウェブ

Malacanang insisted on Tuesday there was no inconsistency between the statements of President Rodrigo Duterte and of Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff Gen. Carlito Galvez on the "Red October" plot to oust the Chief Executive.

Galvez, in a Senate budget hearing, denied that the opposition Liberal Party has been working with the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army to remove Duterte from office.

He cleared Senators Antonio Trillanes IV and Francis Pangilinan of being part of the Red October plot.

"No inconsistency. I'm sure individual members of the Liberal Party as the President said maybe in collusion with the CPP-NPA," said Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque in a press briefing.

"It could be true that there is no formal memorandum of agreement between the party itself and the CPP-NPA. (But) it does not prevent leading personalities with the Liberal Party from having such collusion," he added.

He maintained that Trillanes "called for the ouster of the President."

"So there is no inconsistency. He (Trillanes) has actually verbalize time again that he (Duterte) should step down. He should be removed from office, he should be sent to jail. There's absolutely no inconsistency," Roque stressed.

Despite Galvez' statement, citing intelligence report, that the opposition did not forge a coalition with the CPP, Roque said that there was an "intel information."

"As far as we are concerned we are considering all these information as valid information and we are ready to face them," he said.

Before the Red October plot report came out, Duterte mentioned that Trillanes, the Liberal Party, and the communist rebels were planning to remove him from office. Celerina Monte/DMS