The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) denied claims that some soldiers are mobilizing to protect Vice President Sara Duterte in light of her recent threats against the Commander-in-Chief, President Marcos Jr.
AFP spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla tagged as “completely false” and “misleading” such information that are now being peddled on different social media platforms.
“These claims come from unreliable sources and are not supported by any official AFP releases. Such disinformation only serves to create unnecessary panic and confusion,” Padilla said on Monday, Nov. 25.
The social media posts, which the AFP published on its own social media accounts to warn the public about its inauthenticity, claimed that the military organization is “pro-Duterte.”
Some posts were claiming that military personnel from Davao flew to Manila to “provide protection to the Vice President.”
Others were alarmist, claiming that a war is imminent and the AFP supposedly expressed commitment to protect Duterte.
One thing in common about the posts were the use of photos and videos showing the mobilization of uniformed personnel and assets.
But Padilla clarified: “There are no such operations being conducted by the AFP in relation to these claims. The videos being shared online are taken from previous operations and are being misrepresented as current events, further fueling confusion,” she said.
“These videos are unrelated to the present situation and do not reflect any ongoing AFP activities,” she added.
The military spokesperson reiterated that the AFP remains focused on fulfilling its mandate to protect the Constitution and the chain of command.
“Attempts to undermine our military and democratic institutions with these fraudulent posts will not be tolerated,” Padilla said.
NSC fires back at Duterte
Meanwhile, the National Security Council (NSC) remained firm on its stand that the Vice President’s threat to assassinate President Marcos Jr. is a national security concern “because it puts the country’s stability and governance at risk.”
“The President's safety is crucial for maintaining continuity of government, ensuring national security, and upholding the rule of law, regardless of political views or affiliations. Threats to the President's life can have far-reaching consequences, such as instability and undermining the country's democratic institutions and the rule of law and the Constitution, the very bedrock of Philippine society,” NSC spokesperson Jonathan Malaya said.
“As a democratically-elected head of state, the President symbolizes the democratic institutions, values, and aspirations of our country. For this reason, any threat to his life must be viewed with utmost concern as a potential threat to our nation’s security,” he stated.
Malaya emphasized that the safety of Marcos is a “non-partisan or non-political concern.”
On Sunday, National Security Adviser Eduardo Ano tagged as a national security concern the remarks of Duterte that she has hired an assassin to kill Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and House Speaker Martin Romualdez if ever she gets killed as there were also alleged threats on her life.
Duterte, in response, questioned the NSC for not inviting her to the meetings of the council, stressing that she is an ex-officio member of the group and member of the NSC executive committee (Execom). She demanded the NSC to give her minutes of the meetings done by the NSC since she assumed post as the vice president in June 2022.
But Malaya did not respond to Duterte’s request. Instead, he said that Duterte should wait for the results of the investigation being done by law enforcement agencies for her possible liabilities.