Marcos sees no need for loyalty check of PNP officers despite ouster rumors

MANILA, Philippines – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said there was no need to conduct a loyalty check among officers of the Philippine National Police (PNP) despite reports that certain top brass were involved in a plot to overthrow him as chief executive.

“Anong sasabihin mo sa tao? Loyal ka ba sakin? Siyempre, oo ‘yung sagot nun ‘di ba kahit na hindi siya loyal sa ‘yo (What are you going to tell them? Are you loyal to me? They will obviously say yes even if they are not loyal),” Marcos said on Friday, May 10.

He said they have not received any reports or noticed any police officers getting involved in politicking. He did say though that retired officers could be part of the picture.

But for Marcos, whether his law enforcers liked him or not was irrelevant.

“Basta maging professional ka at gawin mo ‘yung trabaho mo nang tama. ‘Yun lang naman ‘yung hinihiling ko sa lahat ng pulis [at] sa lahat ng armed forces (As long as you’re professional ang you’re doing your job. That’s all that I’m asking from our police and our armed forces),” Marcos said.

This all comes after former senator Antonio Trillanes IV claimed that ranking PNP officers were involved in a plot to oust Marcos. The plan was allegedly backed by former president Rodrigo Duterte, who has been attacking Marcos and his administration despite his daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, being a member of the Marcos cabinet.

Cracks in the Uniteam political alliance became clear in 2023 after Sara’s request for confidential funds was turned down at the House of Representatives, where Marcos allies hold the supermajority.

Trillanes claimed that the former president’s started started hatching the ouster moves because he felt threatened, foreseeing his arrest by the International Criminal Court because of the investigation into his administration’s deadly drug war.

The former senator also said the recent Senate probe on the alleged leaks at the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) was part of Duterte’s “communications plan,” trying to stain and implicate Marcos to an apparent list of illegal drug users.

But Marcos was not worried about that “PDEA leak” either. While there have been two hearings on the alleged leaks so far, the witness, former PDEA employee Jonathan Morales, has yet to substantiate his claims.

“Parang jukebox ‘yan e (He’s like a jukebox),” Marcos said, calling him a “professional liar.”

“Basta maghulog ka ng pera, kahit anong kantang gusto mo, kakantahin niya (As long as you give him money, whatever song you want him to sing, he will sing it).” – Rappler.com