A RANKING official of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) yesterday said that contrary to President Duterte’s statement that he was unaware who are behind the push for a revolutionary government (RevGov), officials of the Mayor Rodrigo Roa Duterte-National Executive Coordinating Committee (MRRD-NECC) are actually present and former appointees of Malacañang.
In a radio interview, Interior Undersecretary for Operations Epimaco Densing said the group is chaired by former Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) chief Guiling Mamondiong, while its national president is Agrarian Reform Secretary John Castriciones.
DAR Undersecretary Emily Padilla, added Densing, is likewise a part of the group. The group’s spokesman, Bobby Brillante, was an active supporter of the President when he ran for president during the 2016 presidential elections.
“He (the President) knows them because its chairman is former TESDA chief Gene Mamondiong, so he knows them… He knows the group,” said Densing while giving a big laugh during the interview.
Mamondiong, a lawyer who hails from Lanao del Sur, used to be an undersecretary at the former Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) during the administration of president Gloria Arroyo. He was an active supporter of Duterte during his presidential campaign and was one of the members of the volunteer group Mayor Rodrigo Roa Duterte (MRRD).
President Duterte on Monday night disowned the group’s call for the establishment of a revolutionary government and said he does not know any member of the MRRD-NECC and was not interested in supporting their advocacy.
Meanwhile, Densing said there is nothing seditious in the call of the MRRD-NECC for the establishment of a revolutionary government towards charter change.
Densing said the group is not sowing any violence. “You know, if you look at the Revised Penal Code, the definition of sedition, it’s stated there, the first element is tumultuous, you should be sowing violence,” he said.
He said the cause of the group cannot be considered as inciting to sedition because “inciting, you are agitating to commit violence, agitating to prevent the government to function so they were just expressing an opinion. That is my point of view.”
Densing said the group is not using force or intimidation and neither is it preventing the government from doing its job to enforce laws.
On Tuesday, PNP chief Gen. Archie Gamboa directed the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group to investigate individuals behind the call for the revolutionary government “to determine if there is any basis to file criminal charges leading to a possible arrest.”
This came after Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said leaders of the MRRD-NECC should be investigated, noting that their cause is “illegal and unconstitutional.” Some lawmakers said the move can be considered as inciting to sedition.
Densing said the CIDG can investigate the matter and establish if there is basis to press charges against officials of the MRRD-NECC.
However, he said he believes the group is just expressing an opinion and this should be respected.
Densing admitted that he used to be part of a group to establish revolutionary government in 2017, principally to push for federalism. He said the group was formed because Congress was not cooperating in the government’s push for a federal form of government.
