A group of retired generals and flag officers warned against any extra-constitutional moves following calls by some individuals urging active military officers to withdraw support from President Marcos Jr. over corruption issues in the government.

The Association of General and Flag Officers (AGFO) said the military must remain under civilian authority and that attempts to seize power would be “a catastrophic betrayal of our democracy,” threatening the economy, international standing, and the daily lives of Filipinos.

“Any extra-constitutional move, such as a military junta, would be a catastrophic betrayal of our democracy. It would betray the very democratic principles we spent our careers defending and invite devastating consequences,” retired major general Gerardo Layug, AGFO president and chairman of board of trustees, said in a statement Saturday, Oct. 25.

Layug said the AGFO recognizes and shares the public’s condemnation of corruption but he noted that the military “is not the solution to political problems.”

“To peacefully demand accountability from public officials is a protected democratic right. To exploit these legitimate public sentiments to advance a separate, unconstitutional agenda is a betrayal of the very people and the institutions we are sworn to protect,” he emphasized.

The warnings come amid public anger over alleged corruption in flood control and infrastructure projects, which some retired officers used as a basis to call on active-duty personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to withdraw support from the government.

Earlier, AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. said that a group of retired military officers held a dialogue with him to air their grievances about the alleged corruption in flood control projects.

He said the retirees wanted the AFP to intervene and stage either a military junta, coup d’etat, or withdrawal of support from Marcos, the AFP’s Commander-in-Chief.

Brawner thumbed down the retirees' call.

Similarly, Department of National Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. cautioned that any illegal power grab could plunge the country into a scenario similar to Myanmar, where a military takeover led to political chaos and international condemnation.

AGFO also rejected the calls, reiterating that accountability must be pursued through democratic and legal channels, not through military intervention. The association emphasized unity under the Constitution as the only path forward.

“We call for sobriety and unity under the Constitution. The only path forward is to demand accountability and fight corruption through the legal and democratic mechanisms our nation provides,” Layug said.