MANILA — President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines on Tuesday challenged military veterans and serving officers who oppose him to mount a rebellion, a day after the head of the armed forces warned soldiers not to take sides in the president’s standoff with a senator he has threatened to arrest. The senator, Antonio Trillanes, a former naval officer who is a fierce critic of Mr. Duterte, took part in two brief military uprisings against one of Mr. Duterte’s predecessors more than 10 years ago. Last week, after Mr. Duterte revoked an amnesty the senator had received for those incidents and ordered his arrest, Mr. Trillanes said he had “across the board” support in the military but that he was trying to prevent a revolt. “I am challenging Magdalo to start now,” Mr. Duterte said Tuesday, referring to Mr. Trillanes’s political party, which is led mostly by former military officers. It declined to do so, instead referring the matter to lower courts.

Source: New York Times September 11, 2018 11:37 UTC