Former President Rodrigo Duterte recently stirred the political waters during a recent Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan event, once the ruling party, where he asserted that the Martin Romualdez-led congress released two SMNI “fake news anchors” after military intervention.

Questions now arise as to whether Duterte, now widely regarded as the country’s new opposition leader following the start of the investigation into SMNI, a pro-Duterte network allegedly owned by his close friend and confidant, Pastor Apollo Quiboloy, is hinting at the possibility of military involvement in response to what he described as a “patent, clear violation of the constitution”.

“Pero etong congress… Ako alam ko na… Pag ka taga-Davao, papasok ang military dito. Hindi ako nagkamali. Papasok ang military dito,” he said in what appears to be a sidebar conversation, with Duterte doing much of the talking.

“Kasi nakita nga ng abuso ng gobyerno. Ngayon takot ang congress ngayon. I don’t think that they can ever cite any other person for any flimsy reason,” Duterte added, explaining why there might be a need for military involvement.

A video of Duterte’s monologue was posted by Senator Robin Padilla on his verified Facebook page on December 16.

Much of Duterte’s talk was focused on the case of SMNI anchors Jeffrey ‘Ka Eric’ Celiz, an ex-rebel, and Lorraine Badoy, former spokesperson of Duterte’s National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), who were recently cited in contempt and then detained for refusing to answer pertinent questions and displaying disrespectful behavior.

The two were later released following their much-mocked hunger strike on December 12 for humanitarian considerations.

“Masama ang nangyayari because… yong si Celiz and si Badoy were cited in contempt sa congress and ordered imprisoned for a flimsy, very flimsy ground,” Duterte said, insinuating that this had an effect on the country’s political life.

“Pinakulong nila yong dalawa, at siyempre automatic ang habeas corpus… petition in court, na palabasin sila. Ang petition ng habeas corpus takes a long time even in the preparation of documents, ilang araw pa yan, baka isang buwan pa.”

He then added that this is when the military, which he then qualified as PMA (Philippine Military Academy) graduates, got involved by writing a manifesto to congress led by House Speaker Romualdez, the first cousin of President Bongbong Marcos.

“But suddenly, suddenly, the PMA graduates made an open letter, addressing to the committee sa congress, na hindi tama yang ginagawa ninyo at we are demanding that you release,” Duterte said.

A list of PMA graduates indeed released a manifesto calling for the immediate release of Celiz and Badoy. One of the signatories, named Dante Langkit, was one of the arrested coup plotters against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2006. Ironically, Duterte and Arroyo, who was recently ousted as deputy speaker, are now political allies.

“Kinaumagahan, ni-release nila. Ibig sabihin natakot sila… [inaudible] sa Supreme Court, wala pa tong habeas corpus eh. Natakot sila. It had to take the military to correct.”

“By and large, the military should not be tinkering with our processes, either political or civil [inaudible]. Ang problema, because there was this patent, clear violation of the constitution, ang mga sundalo hindi na nakatiis. Sabi nila, well… you can read between the lines, that you are violating the constitution, that you are destroying the very constitution,” the former president continued.

He even insinuated that he somehow knew the military would intervene, echoing the alleged destabilization plot warned but then recanted in early November by AFP Chief of Staff General Romeo Brawner Jr.

“Pero etong congress… Ako alam ko na… Pag ka taga-Davao, papasok ang military dito. Hindi ako nagkamali. Papasok ang military dito. Kasi nakita nga ng abuso ng gobyerno. Ngayon takot ang congress ngayon.”

It can be recalled that Brawner acknowledged the existence of a purported destabilization plot during a speech at the Western Mindanao Change of Command Ceremony in Zamboanga. However, in a puzzling reversal, Brawner later claimed that he was misquoted and had not mentioned any destabilization plans or plots during his speech, saying “it was taken out of context.”

Duterte then claimed that the basis of the military sending signals to the current administration was the abuse by congress for penalizing what he called the “mere questioning” of Romualdez’s travel expenses.

“Alam mo, yang pagtanong na toto ba yong P1.6 billion is never, never, never wrong. Hindi mo pwedeng sabihin mo disiplinahin mo ang tao pag tinanong ka ng ganun. Putang-ina baad ka ng tao… Why should you respond with anger. Mali talaga,” he said.

Duterte appeared to have carefully chosen his words when ventured as to whether the military or former PMA graduates did the right thing to which he said “no.”

“Was it appropriate? Yes. Kasi they were detaining persons unnecessarily,” he said.

Meanwhile, on December 14, Senators Robin Padilla and Christopher “Bong” Go disclosed ongoing discussions about the potential consolidation of the former ruling party Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) with the faction led by Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III.

During independent interviews, Padilla, having stepped down from his role as the PDP-Laban’s executive vice president, shared that he is actively engaged in conversations with Pimentel, aiming to facilitate the reunification of the two factions, Daily Tribune reported.