A unit of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) apologized Monday for publishing on its social media page a faulty list containing the names of former University of the Philippines (UP) students who allegedly joined the New People's Army (NPA).
Major Gen. Benedict Arevalo, commander of AFP Civil-Military Operations Office (J7), apologized over a now-deleted social media post where it published the profile of 27 individuals who were either killed or captured during clashes between the military and the NPA.It included the names of some prominent personalities, including late activist and film director Behn Cervantes; Palanca awardee playwright Liza Magtoto; business journalist Roel Landingin; former Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) president Attorney Roan Libarios; and Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) member Atty. Rafael Aquino.
"I will be the one to apologize kasi ako ang nagrelease niyan (I was the one who released it)," Arevalo said.
In a separate statement, the AFP Civil-Military Operations Office also apologized over the release of the faulty list.
"We sincerely apologize for those who were inadvertently affected by (the) inconsistencies regarding the list of students who joined the NPA (died or captured) that was posted in the AFP Information Exchange Facebook account," the AFP Civil-Military Operations Office said.
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana described the AFP unit's mistake as "an unpardonable gaffe."
"The AFP will apologize. What reason will they give? I do not know. It's an unpardonable gaffe," he said.
According to the AFP Civil-Military Operations Office, the post was immediately taken down from all of its social media accounts even as it already initiated an investigation "as to how the list got published."
The AFP unit assured that all personnel who were responsible for the posting of the faulty list on social media will be held accountable.
Arevalo said he has ordered a probe to verify who among those included in the list were erroneously tagged as NPA members.
"We are now verifying the list. If we need to make clarification, then this time it will be more clearer. In due time, siguro (probably) we will get it. Confirmed na confirmed na (It's really confirmed)," he noted.
However, the AFP unit did not mention whether there will also be a punishment on officials who provided the wrong intelligence information which resulted in the inclusion of the names in their NPA list.
Arevalo said they obtained their intelligence information from "different sources."
"We get it from different sources, in our archives, in our filing. We are checking with other offices to verify it," he said.
Nonetheless, the AFP unit wanted to assure the public that they were already reviewing their processes and procedures "to ensure that similar incident will not happen again in the future."
"The Office of J7, AFP remains committed to providing and disseminating information on social media platforms that will contribute to a better Philippines for all," it concluded.
The publishing of the military's erroneous list came days after the unilateral abrogation of the 1989 UP-Department of National Defense (DND) accord which prohibited State forces from entering the university's premises without prior coordination.
Lorenzana said the termination of the pact was part of the military's intensified campaign against communist insurgency. He suspected that UP was a "haven" for NPA recruiters, a claim that was denied by UP President Danilo Concepcion.
He said a dialogue has been scheduled between him and Concepcion this week to discuss the abrogation of the UP-DND accord.