Coup plot ‘confirmed’

THE Reds and other lawless armed groups in Mindanao are planning to destabilize President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration.

“Most of them are Reds and the armed elements in Mindanao,” Major Gen. Restituto Padilla told reporters yesterday in a Palace briefing.

Padilla’s confirmation came two days after Duterte said the communists and the “yellows,” or organizations connected with the Liberal Party (LP), have formed an alliance to oust him.

Asked about the involvement of the President’s political opponents, Padilla said, “there may be but I am not privy to this information yet.”

Duterte earlier said the LP and the communist rebels were uniting to remove him from the presidency.

“The President has access to more information than we do. Because most of our agencies submit to the President information. And we submit to him as well what only comes from our part,” Padilla said.

“So we do continue to monitor the security landscape, and that includes other areas not only in Mindanao but the entirety of the archipelago,” he added.
   
Duterte’s political foes were not the only one planning his removal from office, according to Padilla.
   
“So far, kung ang ibig sabihin ng ating mahal na Pangulo ay ‘yung pagpa-plano, meron po kaming nakikita na iba. At hindi lang naman po ‘yung oposisyon ang ano dito. Kaya ang binabantayan po talaga ng Armed Forces ay ‘yung mga armadong grupo,” he said..
   
He said groups against the President may be forming an alliance to remove the chief executive.
   
“Because the groups that are against government are not only individuals. Kasi kaya nga groups, madami ‘yan. And it may not be farfetched that one or two of them may be also assisting other groups that are against government,” he said.
   
Padilla also said that the NPA’s objective is actually to take over the whole Philippines.
   
Duterte had shelved peace talks with the Reds over their continued attacks on government forces.