The Philippine military has confirmed that plots to oust President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr were “not far-fetched”, but downplayed fears of a coup led by troops and said there was “no junta” forming within its ranks.
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“There is no such thing as a military junta within the AFP,” military spokeswoman Colonel Francel Margareth Padilla said on Tuesday, referring to the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
Her comments come amid rising public anger over a corruption scandal linked to flood-control infrastructure amounting to 100 billion pesos (US$1.7 billion).
Civil society groups and the Catholic Church are planning a mass rally on Saturday to demand arrests of individuals involved in fake or substandard flood-control projects, as the scandal continues to pile pressure on the Marcos administration.
Padilla’s statement is aimed at forestalling unrest by assuring the public of the military’s loyalty to Manila, particularly as funds from the 2025 national budget approved by Marcos were allocated to these controversial projects, according to analysts.
Offer by ‘civil-military junta’
On Sunday, Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson, a retired police general, said he had received text messages from former military and police officers offering him a seat on a proposed “civil-military junta” or “transition council”.