Retired military officers trying to overthrow gov’t
Published on: Sunday, November 05, 2023
By:
PNA, ABS CBN News
Chief of Staff Gen. Brawner (inset) said active members of the AFP should not pay attention to the group but instead focus their efforts in the fulfilment of the AFP’s transformation roadmap.
MANILA: The military’s top commander urged soldiers in the southern Philippines not to entertain invitations to join destabilisation efforts against the government.
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. revealed that there is a group of retired military officers trying to convince military troops to overthrow the Marcos administration.
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Brawner said active members of the AFP should not pay attention to the group but instead focus their efforts in the fulfilment of the AFP’s transformation roadmap.
“We are in a democracy, but please do not involve the active personnel of the AFP,” he said.
Meanwhile, Brawner issued an order to the new AFP Inspector General Maj. Gen. Steve Crespillo to monitor foreign posts such as in Indonesia, Hawaii, New York and others deemed as critical posts to find out if the AFP needs to improve its systems and organizations.
Another disclosure Brawner made during the change of command program is the “infiltration that is happening in the country, including Zamboanga City and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).”
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Brawner refused to provide details to the media.
“Ang sinasabi natin ay dapat bantayan natin, meaning yung mga government and education institutions, business sector, communication, dahil if you are infiltrated, they could monitor our activities, and they could counter our plans,” Brawner said.
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The military general advised soldiers to be “very careful in posting on their personal social media accounts, to avoid disclosing too much information to the public.
Meanwhile, the United States Navy said that they will maintain its presence in the Indo-Pacific Region amid China’s “destabilising” actions in the South China Sea (SCS) and the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
This was according to Capt. Claudine Caluori, Mission Commander of the US Navy’s Pacific Partnership 2023, when asked by reporters at a virtual briefing if the US would be doing more to help the Philippine Coast Guard and the Philippine Navy deal with Chinese harassment in the West Philippine Sea.
“While I cannot comment directly on US response, again I will say that the US will continue to fly, sail and operate safely and responsibility wherever international law allows,” she said.
“These actions (by the Chinese) are destabilizing and threaten the region’s security and prosperity and this is why our primary focus is on strengthening the terms and collaboration with our growing network of allies and partners,” she said.
The Pacific Partnership Mission is the largest annual multinational humanitarian assistance and disaster relief preparedness mission conducted in the Indo-Pacific. It included stops in the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Fiji, Samoa, Palau, Papua New Guinea and Tonga.
“I just want to reiterate that our government has reaffirmed that a strong US-Philippine alliance is vital to a free and open Indo-Pacific Region and that we’ll continue to partner closely with the Philippines,” she stressed.
Caluori noted that for more than 70 years, the US Navy “has maintained a persistent maritime presence in the Indo-Pacific and the US Navy and the US Indo-Pacific Command is committed to continuing its forward presence, which is focused on stability and regional co-operation and economic prosperity for all nations.”
“The US will continue to fly, sail and operate safely and responsibly where international law allows and the US Indo-Pacific Command will remain dedicated to a free and open Indo-Pacific Region and we expect all countries in the Indo-Pacific to operate in international waters safely and in accordance with international law,” she said.
And, the Chinese Embassy in Manila denied the existence of “sleeper cells” in the Philippines, labeling the accusations as “baseless” and “malicious”.
Reacting to the report of the recent arrest of two Chinese nationals for possession of high-powered firearms in Pasig City on Oct. 16, the embassy, in a statement, said “[s]ome individuals with ulterior motives took advantage of an isolated case and blew things out of proportion by making groundless accusations against China and the Chinese people.”
“We strongly oppose and condemn such baseless allegations and malicious spreading of disinformation,” it added.
The embassy said China has “always adhered to the principle of non-interference” in the internal affairs of other countries.
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