General Romeo Brawner Jr., chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), directed the troops to remain steadfast in their mandate to protect the country and the Filipino people amid intense political noise.
“In the past days, we have seen a myriad of events that transpired in our country and this has shaken the political environment of our country. As soldiers, we should not be shaken by this. Hindi dapat tayo ano, maapektuhan ng masama dahil dito (We should not be affected negatively),” he said in his speech during the launch of the 18-day Campaign to End Violence Against Women (VAW) in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City on Monday, Nov. 25.
Brawner alluded to the assassination threat made by Vice President Sara Duterte against President Marcos Jr.
The military chief urged the troops to remember the vow they promised to adhere to when they entered the service.
“In that vow, we vowed to defend the Constitution of the Philippines. That means that we have to follow the chain of command. We also promised to be loyal to our country, to our organization and to the constitution,” Brawner said.
“This also goes to say that we are loyal to the duly-constituted authorities, whoever that may be. Hindi po tayo loyal sa tao kundi sa posisyon (We are not loyl to the person but to the position) and in that vow that we took, ‘yung panata natin sinabi natin na (we promised that) we will continue to uphold the Constitution,” he continued.
“‘Yun lang po ang isipin natin para hindi natin ma-confuse. Very clear ‘yung ating mandate (That’s the only thing that you need to think to avoid being confused. Our mandate is very clear),” he added.
Marcos and Duterte, once a formidable political tandem, have been trading barbs after the latter threatened to kill the former, as well as First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
Duterte is being investigated by the House of Representatives, headed by the President’s cousin, Speaker Romualdez, over the alleged funds misuse of the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education (DepEd) when she was still the education secretary.