By Jose Maria Sison
NDFP Chief Political Consultant
July 9, 2019

The invectives frenziedly thrown against me by Duterte’s political, military and troll agents for my observation about the possibility of a US-directed coup against Duterte unwittingly hit Duterte instead of me.

Duterte himself has been the one publicly asserting repeatedly that he is in danger of being overthrown by a coup and has in fact pleaded to his own military officers not to launch a coup but simply ask him to step down.

If they believe themselves, my detractors should directly address Duterte as insane, cowardly, out of touch and engaged in wishful thinking. The political and military agents of Duterte even pretend to be unaware that Duterte is shamelessly boasting of China’s protection to keep himself in power against pro-US military officers.

It is not my claim that Duterte is subject to an impending coup. But a coup is always potential and probable because the reactionary armed forces, while usually servile to the president, are still indoctrinated, trained and armed as puppets by US imperialism. If Marcos could be overthrown by a people’s uprising accompanied by withdrawal of military support, why not the tyrant and corrupt Duterte?

In my statement, I clearly pointed out that while the biggest puppet Duterte and his cabal are allowed to take bribes in shady deals with with China and the Chinese triads, the US is still using Duterte and the reactionary armed forces in a futile attempt to destroy the people’s revolutionary movement and to make charter change for the 100 percent ownership of land, natural resources and all types of businesses by US corporations.

I have also pointed out that Duterte has a diminishing value to the US and can become more of a liability than an asset and can be junked by the US like Marcos who used to appear to enjoy the total servility of the reactionary armed forces and the police.

Contrary to the paid hype of his eternally rising popularity, Duterte is vulnerable to the people’s mass uprisings due to their discontent over his policies and acts of tyranny, treason, mass murder, corruption, soaring prices of basic commodities, unemployment, low incomes and other problems caused and aggravated by him.

Duterte is also vulnerable to the continuing rise of the people’s armed revolutionary movement, the contradictions among his own political and military subordinates and to the escalating US-China political rivalry and economic competition. ###