‘PALUSOT’
CAMIGUIN Representative Jurdin Jesus Romualdo yesterday lauded the decision of Justice Secretary Jesus Remulla to investigate former Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez for his “seditious statement” in calling on the military to withdraw support from the Marcos administration.
Romualdo said Alvarez’s claim that his call is part of his freedom of speech “is just a palusot, an excuse to evade prosecution.”
“Huwag na po tayong magpalusot. The former speaker very well knows that free speech is not absolute. One cannot make a seditious call or a libelous statement without facing the consequences,” he said.
It was the Camiguin lawmaker who asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Monday to look into Alvarez’s remarks during a rally in Tagum City.
On Tuesday, Secretary Remulla said his department would determine whether the former House leader’s call on the military to withdraw support from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to force the latter to step down “has risen to the level of sedition, inciting to sedition or even rebellion.”
“As a former lawmaker myself, I would like to remind Congressman Alvarez to act in accordance [with] the highest standards of ethics, morality and nationalism, and avoid remarks unbecoming of a member of the House of Representatives,” Remulla said in a statement.
Romualdo said it would not be difficult for the DOJ to evaluate Alvarez’s statements.
“There is ample evidence, including a recording of the remarks. In fact, there is now an admission from the former speaker. There is a defense-excuse-palusot as well,” he said.
He suggested that the DOJ should now issue a show-cause order to Alvarez.
Romualdo, who chairs the defense committee of the Commission on Appointments, also lauded the military for respecting and following the chain of command and ignoring the former speaker’s call.
