Embattled military officer Vice Admiral Alberto Carlos was rotated to the General Headquarters of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP GHQ) at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City after being booted out of his post as the commander of the Palawan-based Western Command (WesCom) due to the “new model” controversy.
Vice Admiral Toribio Adaci Jr., Philippine Navy (PN) Flag Officer in Command, confirmed this to reporters on the sidelines of the PN’s 126th anniversary in Manila on Friday, May 24.
“Reassignments are normal in the armed forces so designations and reliefs are just part of service,” he said.
Adaci clarified that Carlos was not dismissed from service, explaining that his reassignment was to ensure that the operation of the WesCom would continue and not be jeopardized.
Commodore Roy Vincent Trinidad, PN spokesperson for West Philippine Sea, added: “This would allow Admiral Carlos to be able to face all the issues, the smear campaign raised against him so he was rotated to GHQ to give him time.”
Carlos took a personal leave earlier this month when news broke out alleging that he entered into an agreement with a Chinese diplomat identified as “Colonel Li” to deescalate tension in the WPS.
The alleged agreement was about establishing a new model which would only allow limited vessels from the Philippine and Chinese militaries and coast guard when conducting resupply mission in Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal, among others.
On May 7, Rear Admiral Torres Jr. was appointed as acting commander of WesCom, and later installed as the official head of the unit in what was described by the AFP as an “administrative decision.”
Carlos, on the other hand, went off the radar until he finally broke his silence in a Senate hearing on Wednesday, May 22, where he denied forging a deal with China, through one of its military diplomats in the country.
He said the Chinese diplomat called him sometime in January to talk about deescalating tension in the WPS, but he insisted not entering into any “new model” agreement. He also said that he did not consent to recording the phone call, raising concerns from lawmakers that a possible wiretapping violation was committed by officials from Beijing.
It was not unusual for Filipino military officers to engage with their foreign counterparts.
“Even in international practices, adversaries communicate,” Trinidad said.
But since there was an allegation of wiretapping involved, the Navy leadership said it would follow the orders of the AFP to coordinate with proper agencies to investigate the matter.
“The appropriate agencies should take care of that. On our end, we will just take the guidance of the higher headquarters,” Adaci said.