The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) vowed to remain loyal to the Constitution and the duly-constituted authorities amid rumors of the presence of retired and active military officials who are allegedly pissed off by President Duterte's deafening silence on the issue of China's repeated intrusion in the West Philippine Sea.

The absence of clear instruction from Duterte as the Commander-In-Chief is what allegedly agitated some of the military officers but in the military statement released through its spokesman Maj. Gen. Edgard Arevalo, it said the that AFP continues to trust the Duterte administration's handling of China's aggressive assertion of it claims in the West Philippine Sea.

"The AFP trusts the government's management of the situation in the disputed area and its diplomatic thrust in protecting the sovereignty and sovereign rights of the country," said Arevalo.

"The AFP commits to the nation its unflinching loyalty to the Constitution and the duly constituted authorities. We assure our people that the soldiers, airmen, sailors and marines of the AFP are firmly behind the chain-of-command," he added.

On Sunday, both Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and AFP chief of staff Gen. Cirilito Sobejana issued a separate statement denying rumors of the presence of disgruntled retired and active military officers dubbed as the Viber 500.

The alleged presence of the group was based on the social media posts about the so-called Viber 500, which started as Viber 300, whose members are reportedly demanding that Duterte issue a strong stand against China. The social media posts that included in the Viber 500 are Lorenzana, Sobejana and former AFP chiefs of staff, except for vaccine czar Carlito Galvez.

Anonymous Twitter user @infopsph claimed military generals were planning to withdraw their support to the President should there be no changes in the way he deals with China's reported territorial expansion in the West Philippine Sea. The rumors surfaced amid the continued presence of more than 200 Chinese vessels in different parts of the West Philippine Sea and Kalayaan Island Group in Palawan since March 7.

But Arevalo denied that Sobejana is among its members.

"The Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines General Cirilito Sobejana completely disproves the fake information about a group of retired and active military officers allegedly withdrawing support for President Rodrigo Duterte. There is no truth to the posts circulating online that the Chief of Staff is part of a Viber group consisting of some 300 senior military leaders plotting unauthorized movements to address issues in the West Philippine Sea," said Arevalo.

"Nevertheless, the military leadership takes cognizance of the presence of individuals and groups that are determined and are engaged in orchestrated efforts to undermine the government. These groups discredit our efforts through fake news intended to agitate and confuse the people to turn against our government or support those who are already rebelling against it. We therefore advise the public to remain calm and dismiss this as propaganda," he added.

Lorenzana also denied the existence of the so-called Viber 500 and the purported withdrawal of support of military generals to Duterte, including himself.

The military has yet to confirm whether it is already investigating the person behind the anonymous Twitter account.