Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana has requested the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to reinstate two military officials who were relieved two months ago over the publishing of an erroneous list of alleged New People's Army (NPA) rebels on social media.
Lorenzana said that Maj. Gen. Benedict Arevalo, deputy chief of staff for civil-military operations (CMO), and Maj. Gen. Alex Luna, deputy chief of staff for intelligence, did not directly commit a violation after the military released a list of University of the Philippines (UP) alumni who were wrongly accused of being recruits of the NPA.
"I have exhaustively reviewed the case involving Maj. Gen. Benedict Arevalo and Maj. Gen. Alex Luna. From the reports submitted to me, I believe that both men were NOT directly responsible for the lapse over the publication of the unverified and unofficial list of UP students who have been linked with left-leaning groups," he said in a statement Tuesday, March 23.
The Defense Chief, however, said that Arevalo and Luna are not yet completely cleared from the case as the investigation is still on-going.
"I am not completely clearing them of liability, in fact they were punished under the principle of command responsibility," he said.
However, Lorenzana argued that the track records of Arevalo and Luna "would show that they have always performed their duties conscientiously and competently." He did not provide the track records of Arevalo and Luna.
Lorenzana said he already requested the leadership of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to reinstate Arevalo and Luna back to their previous commands even as he gave them a "stern warning" that similar incidents "cannot and should not happen again in the future."
"Naniniwala ako sa second chances, lalo na kung nadamay lamang naman sila sa pagkukulang at pagkakamali ng iba. Bigyan natin sila ng panibagong pagkakataon na patunayan ang kanilang katapatan sa kanilang tungkulin (I believe in second chances especially if they are also casualties of the wrongdoings of other people. Let us give them another chance to prove their commitment to their duties)," he noted.
Luna was relieved on January 29, 2021 after the AFP Information Exchange published on its Facebook page a list of UP alumni who were either killed or arrested by state forces for allegedly being members of the NPA.
The list included some prominent personalities such as the late activist and film director Behn Cervantes, Palanca-awardee playwright Liza Magtoto; business journalist Roel Landingin, former Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) president and lawyer Roan Libarios, and Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) member and lawyer Rafael Aquino.
The AFP Information Exchange, which is being handled by the AFP Office of the Civil-Military Operations, used the intelligence information provided by Luna's office in publishing the unverified report.
After Luna's relief, Arevalo filed a leave of absence as he took responsibility over the incident but then AFP Chief Gilbert Gapay ordered that he be relieved upon the recommendation of the Board of Generals.
Lawmakers, the IBP, and several cause-oriented groups have called for the punishment of erring officers for the "irresponsible" naming of UP alumni as members of the NPA, which happened after Lorenzana unilaterally terminated the DND-UP accord of 1989. The accord prevented state forces from entering UP campuses nationwide without prior coordination to the UP management.
The military has since apologized over the social media gaffe as it took down the post and deleted the AFP Information Exchange Facebook account.