House Committee on Natural Resources chairperson and Cavite 4th District Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr. (Courtesy of House of Representatives PRIB)
MANILA – An administration lawmaker on Tuesday warned that rumors of political instability will only hurt the country's economy and make life more difficult for Filipinos.
In a statement, Cavite 4th District Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr. pointed out that any rumors of alleged destabilization efforts against the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. will only shoo away investors, even if the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has already denied that there are moves to destabilize the government.
"We cannot afford any political and economic instability. A plot to overthrow the administration won't do us any good," he said.
He added that what the country needs is a "concerted" effort to address the economic challenges it is facing and not rumors of adventurism being fomented by retired soldiers.
Barzaga cited the statement of the think-tank Stratbase ADR Institute that addressing economic challenges "requires a concerted effort among policymakers, the business community, and other relevant stakeholders.”
“Instability is the last thing the country needs right now as it continues to face economic challenges, particularly controlling inflation, which remains the most urgent national concern of the majority of Filipinos,” the chairperson of the House Committee on Natural Resources said.
Inflation in September increased to 6.1 percent, up from 5.3 percent in August, the fastest pace in four months. The figure has brought the year-to-date inflation to 6.6 percent.
As prices of basic commodities surged, Barzaga said talks of a brewing plot to destabilize the Marcos administration "will only cause the economy another black eye."
"We don't need their adventurism. We have a working government duly elected by an overwhelming majority of the people, more than 31.6 million margin. They have to respect the people's decision," Barzaga said.
The AFP on Saturday assured the public there are no attempts to overthrow the administration of President Marcos, and that AFP chief of staff Gen. Romeo S. Brawner Jr. was merely misquoted in the media when speaking about destabilization plots.
AFP spokesperson Col. Medel Aguilar said Brawner merely mentioned the reported efforts by certain individuals to upset the peace and stability that the country is enjoying right now under the leadership of Marcos during the change of command ceremony of the Western Mindanao Command (Wesmincom) on Friday.
Meanwhile, an official of the National Security Council (NSC) on Monday said they have yet to monitor any threats or destabilization plots against the Marcos administration.
NSC Assistant Director General and spokesperson Jonathan Malaya said based on their monitoring of the country’s security, “there is no such destabilization plot” and assured the public that the NSC “will not allow such threats to succeed.”
Earlier, NSC chair and National Security Adviser Eduardo Año said the Marcos administration's trust rating remains high which means that the people are satisfied with the performance of the government in delivering services to the people and addressing all concerns and issues, including protecting the country's sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction in the West Philippine Sea. (PNA)
