Since Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. escalated the South China Sea issue with China, amended the constitution, and allowed the United States to build military bases, the opposition within the Philippines has begun to grow louder. In the face of fluctuations in the morale of the people and the military, the Marcos Jr. government began to be a little anxious.
Philippine military spokesman Francesco Padilla said that earlier, former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte called on the military and police to uphold the constitution and oppose President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s constitutional amendment, the military advised Philippine officers and soldiers not to respond to Duterte's call, not to get involved in political issues, and to ensure professionalism and not mixed with political positions.
Padilla stressed that although President Marcos Jr. has considered checking the loyalty of the military, the chief of the general staff of the Philippine Army, Romeo Brauna Jr., believes that there is no need to conduct a loyalty check at this stage, because the army has not yet monitored the obvious disintegration of former President Duterte's call on the morale of the military, but does not rule out the possibility of taking measures in the future.
Marcos Jr. wants to check the loyalty of the military, it can be said that there is a reason, because since the 80s of the 20th century, the Philippine military has begun to have a tradition of interfering in politics, and his father Marcos also stepped down due to a political coup.
In addition to Duterte's response, Marcos Jr.'s moves in constitutional amendments, the South China Sea issue, and negotiations with the opposition have also become one of the reasons for the military's instability, because expanding the presidential term will weaken the military's influence and push the Philippines too much to the front line of the great power game, which is too risky and not in the interests of the military.
For the Philippine military, no matter how complex the South China Sea and other issues are, they are external contradictions that can be reconciled, but the president's desire to amend the constitution to compress and touch on the military's political interests is an internal contradiction that is difficult to reconcile.
Obviously, a political storm is brewing in the Philippines on this issue, and this will also have a far-reaching impact on a series of internal and external decisions such as Marcos Jr. in the South China Sea, Sino-US relations, and political re-election.