ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider AFP declares loyalty to Constitution amid efforts to amend Supreme Law

AFP declares loyalty to Constitution amid efforts to amend Supreme Law

Published Jan 29, 2024 09:44 am

At A Glance

  • The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) reaffirmed its loyalty to the Constitution and commitment to the chain of command in the wake of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s launching of the "Bagong Pilipinas" (New Philippines) concept.
  • The Bagong Pilipinas concept is equated to a call for national transformation.
  • AFP Chief of Staff, General Romeo Brawner Jr. said the military "shall be at the vanguard" to ensure the fulfillment of the Commander-in-Chief's vision.
PBBM VIETNAM AFP.jpg
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos wave as they are escorted by personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) at the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City on Jan. 29, 2024. The Chief Executive is headed to Vietnam for a two-day official working visit. (Photo by AFP)

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) reaffirmed its loyalty to the Constitution and commitment to the chain of command on Monday, Jan. 29, in the wake of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s launching of the "Bagong Pilipinas" (New Philippines) concept that he equates to a call for national transformation.

AFP Chief of Staff, General Romeo Brawner Jr. said the military "shall be at the vanguard" to ensure the fulfillment of the Commander-in-Chief's vision.

"In our national effort to usher in this vision, the AFP shall remain to be a highly professional military organization, loyal to the Constitution, the chain of command, and our people," Brawner said in a statement.

On Sunday, Jan. 28, Marcos led the launching of the Bagong Pilipinas vision in Manila as a testament to the government's "commitment to improving their services to the people."

In Davao City, former president Rodrigo Duterte appealed to the military and police to "protect the Constitution and people" as he claimed that efforts to amend the Supreme Law of the Land through people's initiative were marred by alleged signature-buying.

"Yon lang ang dasal ko (That's my only prayer), reject [people’s initiative], protect the Constitution. I am calling now the armed forces and the PNP [Philippine National Police]: protect the Constitution. Trabaho niyo ‘yan, huwag niyong kalimutan. Kami ang inyong dapat… (That's your job, don't you forget. We are the ones you should...) You should worry about the nation, the millions of Filipinos. Huwag kayong mag-isip lang ng isang pamilya put

*. Ilagay niyo ‘yan sa utak niyo (Don't protect just one family, son of a b

**. Remember that)," Duterte said in an expletive-laden speech given before a throng of supporters in a protest rally held simultaneously with the Bagong Pilipinas launch.

For his part, Brawner said that the military shall continue to be a "united, competent, and non-partisan" organization that is committed to their mandate of protecting the Filipino people and securing the state from all kinds of domestic and foreign threats.

AFP escorts PBBM for Vietnam trip

Meanwhile, the AFP provided security for the send-off ceremony of Marcos to Vietnam on Monday.

The Commander-in-Chief flew to Vietnam for a two-day official working visit that is expected to center on enhancing the two countries' relations, including potential areas of collaboration on maritime, defense, and security matters.

Brawner was not present during the send-off at the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City but he was represented by AFP Vice Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Arthur Cordura. 

Also present were Philippine Air Force (PAF) Commanding General, Lt. Gen. Stephen Parreño; Philippine Navy (PN) Flag Officer in Command, Vice Adm. Toribio Adaci Jr.; Philippine Army (PA) Vice Commander, Maj. Gen. Leodevic Guinid Jr.; and Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, Police General Benjamin Acorda Jr.

"The President is set to meet Vietnamese leaders to discuss cooperation and defense, security, trade and investments, education, tourism, and regional and multilateral issues of concern," AFP public affairs chief Col. Xerxes Trinidad said.

Related Tags

Armed Forces of the Philippines People's Initiative AFP Bagong Pilipinas PBBM
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.