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"No motive is more selfish than calling for a sitting president to be overthrown so that your daughter (Vice President Sara Duterte) can take over", Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said on Tuesday.

This is the response of the Palace to the statement of former President Rodrigo Duterte calling the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to correct the "fractured governance" of President Ferdinand Marcos who he again called an illegal drug user.

Bersamin called on Duterte to follow the constitution as he interpreted the statement of the former president as a call for the military to launch a coup against the Marcos administration.

"And he (Duterte) will go to great and evil lengths, such as insulting our professional armed forces by asking them to betray their oath, for his plan to succeed,” Bersamin added.

During his late Monday press conference, Duterte claimed that there is a "heavy" fracture in the present governance that only the military can correct.

"I challenge the military itself, the whole of the military because they are supposed to be the protectors of the constitution, now tell me if they are protectors of the Constitution are they willing to still protect the president who is a drug addict for another four years," he said.

"There is a fracture now in the governance of Marcos. It cannot be remedied, there is no relief, it is only the military who can correct it, how? I do not know they are the protectors of the constitution so it's up to them," he added.

In a press conference on Tuesday, the military assures that the AFP is loyal to the constitution and the chain of command "remain intact and secured".

"Amid all the developments of misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation, I would like to say that your Armed Forces will remain loyal to the Constitution and the duly constituted civil authorities," Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, Philippine Navy spokesman for the West Philippine Sea said.

"To those who are spreading misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation designed to weaken the chain of command, listen and listen well. The chain of command is intact. It is secured. It will remain intact and secured. We take pride in being military professionals," he added.

Despite Duterte's call to overthrow Marcos, Col. Francel Margareth Padilla, AFP spokesperson, noted that "at this point, there is no need for loyalty checks" among the members of the armed forces.

"Our chief of staff has already stated that he trusts that each soldier will perform its mandate accordingly and remain professional. Our loyalty is to the flag and to the constitution and we adhere to the chain of command," she said. Robina Asido/DMS