No ground to declare martial law nationwide amid Red October plot, Palace says
President Rodrigo Duterte does not see the need to place the whole country under martial law amid the so-called "Red October" plot to oust him, Malacanang said on Wednesday.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque issued the statement after Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff Carlito Galvez Jr. accused the Communist Party of the Philippines of forcing Duterte to declare martial law nationwide with its Red October plot.
Roque said the Palace stands by the statement of the military that the CPP is pushing Duterte to place the country under martial law.
"By sowing chaos through its Red October ouster plot, the CPP hopes that a nationwide martial law declaration would spark people's outrage. We will therefore not fall into this trap hatched by the enemies of the State," he said.
"President Duterte sees no ground to declare martial law nationwide as the whole situation is under control," Roque stressed.
But the CPP, in a statement, denied that there was a Red October plot against Duterte and wondered why it would push for martial law declaration in the entire country.
"Why should the CPP 'push' for martial law nationwide when it has repeatedly condemned and called for the lifting of martial law in Mindanao? Why should it 'push' for something which has relentlessly inflicted atrocious crimes on the people?" the Maoist group said.
It accused the AFP of its apparent willingness to perpetuate and even repeat the myth of the Plaza Miranda bombings which dictator Ferdinand Marcos allegedly used to justify imposing martial law nationwide in 1972.
"It is no secret that the CPP is calling on the people to unite and struggle to overthrow the Duterte regime...but as the CPP has also repeatedly pointed out, it will be the confluence of various democratic forces that will ultimately bring down Duterte. Given the increasingly difficult economic conditions of the people and rising internal political conflicts within the Duterte regime, the Party anticipates protests to continue to mount in the coming months," the CPP said. Celerina Monte/DMS
