The Philippines' Defense Department said Monday that foreign actors are promoting coup-related rumors as public frustration grows over the government's response to a billion-dollar flood control scandal that has engulfed the Southeast Asian country.
It warned that any attempts to incite “military intervention” against the government would fail, citing strong public support for democratic norms and the armed forces' continued commitment to political neutrality.
The agency did not identify the foreign actors.
“Foreign-backed groups are spreading rumors of military intervention for their own gain in an effort to subvert our constitutional processes and hijack the people's calls for accountability and transparency for their own personal political agendas,” the Department of National Defense (DND) said in a statement. “Only the enemies of the state want us to fail.”
President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. is facing increasing pressure as his administration is engulfed by a widespread controversy involving substandard, incomplete or non-existent flood structures in a country regularly hit by floods.
News of a coup plot against him circulated on social media last month, as thousands of Filipinos took to the streets in the biggest protests in years over a flood control scandal.
A spokesman for the Philippine Navy warned last week that public outrage over widespread corruption in flood control projects could leave the country vulnerable to foreign-backed propaganda seeking to incite unrest.
An OCTA Research survey released on Sunday showed that seven in 10 Filipinos oppose a military coup as a means of settling political disagreements amid rising political tensions arising from a widening scandal that has so far involved politicians, government engineers and private contractors.
“The public's clear rejection of any form of military interference in politics underscores a maturing democracy and validates the Armed Forces of the Philippines' steadfast commitment to remain non-partisan and focused on the defense of the nation,” the DND said.
The Philippines has a long history of coup plots, with more than a dozen military coups since democracy was restored following a popular street rebellion that ousted the late President Ferdinand E. Marcos, Sr. in 1986.
Every succeeding president has faced the threat of a coup by disgruntled soldiers, former President Rodrigo R. Duterte's government alleged a plot to remove him from office during his 2016–2022 presidency.
Mr Duterte had also called for military action against his successor amid political feuding between their families. The “solution” to Mr Marcos's “fragmented government” lies with the troops, he said before his arrest in November and surrender to the International Criminal Court in The Hague in March.
In January last year, Defense Secretary Gilberto C. Teodoro, Jr. dismissed alleged plots to oust Mr. Marcos, saying the military had become a professional force that respects the chain of command. , Kenneth Christian L. basilio
