Ex-Speaker Alvarez liable for sedition — lawmaker

MANILA, Philippines — A lawmaker said that former House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez should be charged by the Department of Justice (DOJ) for sedition after his "seditious statement.”

Rep. Jurdin Jesus Romualdo (Camiguin) urged the DOJ to file charges against Alvarez after his pronouncement in an evening rally on Sunday. The latter urged the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to withdraw their support for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., saying that “it would attain peace and stability.”

Alvarez also said that Marcos’ position in the West Philippine Sea issue will drag the Philippines in a war against China.

“The response to the  seditious statement should be the immediate filing of a criminal case so that the move to incite people, including the military, to rebel against the government will be nipped in the bud,” Romualdo said in a statement on Monday.

The solon stated that sedition involves actions, statements, or speech that encourage the public to oppose the state or its legitimate authorities.

“Clearly, what former Speaker Alvarez remarked during a rally in Tagum City falls within the purview of sedition,” he said.

The rally in Tagum City, Davao de Norte was attended by former President Rodrigo Duterte, who allegedly had a “gentleman's agreement” with Chinese President Xi Jinping concerning the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal.

Davao City Mayor Sebastian "Baste" Duterte, the son of the former president who resumed the war on drugs in the city last month, also attended the political rally.

In the rally, the younger Duterte downplayed the tensions in the West Philippine Sea saying it was a “propaganda” only to drag the Philippines in a potential war between China and the United States.

Alvarez, a Duterte ally, was appointed by the former president as House Speaker in 2016, a post where he served until 2018.

It can also be recalled that Alvarez supported Duterte’s previous call for a Mindanao secession.

In separate statements, two other lawmakers also called on Alvarez to be cautious with his words.

“I would kindly urge the former speaker to be cautious with his words and clear on his intent. At face value, his anti-government statements are unbecoming of a