The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) will mark its 90th anniversary on Dec. 21 with a significantly toned-down celebration as it foregoes its traditional parade and showcase of military assets out of respect for Filipinos affected by recent calamities and amid public outrage over a corruption scandal involving billions in government funds.

Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., AFP Chief of Staff, announced the adjustments during the send-off ceremony for military delegates to the 33rd Southeast Asian Games at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City on Monday, Dec. 1.

“For our celebration this year, we had originally planned to hold a grand event because it’s our 90th anniversary. But we decided to keep the celebration simple instead,” he said.

Brawner said the traditional anniversary parade and capability demonstration where the AFP typically showcases its ships, aircraft, and new military assets will no longer be held.

Instead, the commemoration will consist of a command conference with the Commander-in-Chief, President Marcos Jr., a short program for the awarding of outstanding personnel, and a nationwide simultaneous boodle fight.

Brawner said the AFP opted for modest activities since many communities are still struggling from recent earthquakes, typhoons, and flooding. The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) has forecast the possible entry of two more storms this month.

“Our country has gone through many calamities and many of our fellow Filipinos are still suffering because of these disasters like the earthquakes, typhoons, and flooding. Even now, there are still many areas in our country experiencing floods,” the military chief said.

On top of this, Brawner said that the ongoing corruption controversy involving alleged large-scale misuse of government funds also influenced the decision to simplify the celebration.

“Because of this ongoing corruption scandal, and because we have seen that millions or even billions were stolen from our government, we will no longer hold a grand celebration as we want to be prudent with our spending,” he stated.

The AFP will likewise forego a single and command-wide Christmas party. Instead, offices and units will hold small gatherings within their respective areas, which Brawner said would be more practical and allow closer interaction among personnel and their families.

Meanwhile, Brawner thanked the AFP personnel nationwide for staying “disciplined, professional, and united” during anti-corruption protests held across the country in recent weeks.

He noted that troops did not heed calls urging them to turn against the government.

“Even though there were those urging our soldiers to join their ranks to overthrow the government, we did not respond to their call. Instead, we remained disciplined, professional, and united,” Brawner said.