MALACANANG will conduct a thorough review to determine if sedition or treason charges can be filed against certain individuals, including some retired military officials, who allegedly attempted to stage a coup to overthrow the Marcos administration during the anti-corruption protests on September 21.
“We will study what exactly transpired in the event so that if there are people that need to be made accountable, then they should be charged,” said Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro.
Castro stated that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was aware of the suggestion by a “small group” of people to encourage the military to withdraw support from their Commander-in-Chief even before the September 21 protests.
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff General Romeo Brawner Jr. and Acting Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief General Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. have both reaffirmed their loyalty to the Constitution and the chain of command.
“The public should not be worried about these destabilization attempts,” Castro said, emphasizing that the President is not concerned about the matter.
According to reports, AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Brawner admitted that some retired military officials called on the AFP to withdraw support from President Marcos amid protests related to alleged irregularities in flood control projects. Brawner stated that some retired officials tried to persuade active AFP soldiers and officers to act against the administration through a coup d’état, military junta, or withdrawal of support. However, no such action materialized during the protests on September 21.
Brawner assured that the Armed Forces personnel remained loyal and professional, and no one followed the call of the retired officials. He added that they had conveyed the information about these calls to the President, but Marcos expressed full confidence in the AFP and its leadership.
In connection with this, the Department of National Defense (DND) insisted that there is no threat or actual plan of a coup against the administration, contrary to circulating speculations.
