Palace sees “spying” by other country to Duterte’s critics not an interference

September 12, 2018

Malacanang does not consider as interference the alleged "spying" of another country to President Rodrigo Duterte's critics.

This was after Duterte disclosed on Tuesday in a television interview that he asked the authorities to declassify the conversation provided by a foreign country sympathetic to his administration on the supposed conspiracy to overthrow his government by the Magdalo group, communist rebels, and his critics.

"No. You know, even as early as the time when new develop inter-state relations, the gathering on intel(ligence) has always been recognized as a function of diplomatic missions -- we have regular reports from our own embassies, we also get intel information -- that’s the nature of diplomatic relations nowadays," Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said when asked if the President did not consider the alleged spying of other countries as interference.

Constitutional Law Professor Tony La Viña has said that allowing another country to spy on Duterte's critics was an impeachable offense, such as culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust.

"Ultimately, whether or not it is impeachable will be a decision of the House of Representatives," Roque said. Celerina Monte/DMS