MANILA — Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson believes there seems to be “coordinated, orchestrated and calibrated” moves to overthrow the government, as shown by a series of events leading up to the Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC) rally.
He noted, for instance, the timing of the release of resigned Ako Bicol party-list congressman Elizaldy Co’s video series, where he accused President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos of receiving kickbacks from an alleged P100 billion insertion in the 2025 national budget.
Co’s allegations came just days before the INC rally on Nov. 16 to 18.
It was at the same event where the president’s sister, Sen. Imee Marcos, also accused the president, his wife, and son of using illegal drugs.
“That’s why I said, it seems like the entire series of events leading up to the INC rally was orchestrated,” Lacson said in an interview at the Senate.
“Wasn’t there even a group that wanted to infiltrate and join the INC rally? Their intention was to march to Malacañang. But the INC didn’t allow it. They told the ‘BBM resign’ group to leave, right?” he pointed out.
It was also around that time when Lacson started receiving messages from retired military and police officials, egging him to join a civilian-military junta.
He said a series of messages sent to him further escalated after Co’s allegations against the president.
“That’s why I said, if I were the one to analyze, it seems calibrated. Those events seem to have happened one after another. It looks coordinated, orchestrated, and carefully planned,” he observed.
The senator said partisan groups could be behind these ouster moves against Marcos.
“There are clearly obvious moves to overthrow the government,” Lacson said.
Some groups, he noted, are calling for a “total reset,” without a president and a vice president, that even the line of succession would not be allowed.
The senator said he rejected it by ignoring the series of messages sent to him.
“It’s unconstitutional,” he answered when asked why he declined to support a junta.
Meanwhile, Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III warned Filipinos that the country could reset to a “banana republic” if mob rule and military adventurism were to succeed.
“The rule of law and due process are the best policies for the long game to real progress,” said Sotto, who is third in the line of succession.
“Shortcuts will lead us to a rocky road towards anarchy and uncertainty. It will give internal and external disruptive forces their chance to turn us to un-Filipino ideologies, and tip the balance of world stability in the Asia-Pacific region,” he further said in a message to reporters. (Maila Ager © Philippine Daily Inquirer)
