President Marcos is closely monitoring the situation involving a Philippine Army officer relieved after allegedly withdrawing support from the President, Malacañang said Friday evening, Jan. 9.

Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary Claire Castro said this after the Philippine Army placed Col. Audie Mongao, commander of the Training Support Group under the PA’s Training Command, under attached or unassigned status following an alleged social media post interpreted as a withdrawal of personal support from the President.

In a message to reporters, Castro said Marcos will allow existing processes to take their course as the Armed Forces of the Philippines conducts its investigation.

“Nakikinig at nagmamatyag ang Pangulo (The President is listening and closely watching),” she said.

“Kung sinoman ang may dapat na may panagutan, ebidensya ang gamitin (Whoever should be held accountable, evidence must be used),” she added.

The Palace Press Officer stressed that due process must be observed and that authorities should strictly follow the law.

“Due process ang pairalin at ang kung ano ang sinasabi ng batas iyon ang ipapatupad (Due process must prevail, and whatever the law provides will be implemented),” Castro said.

The Philippine Army earlier said Mongao may face administrative charges and possible court-martial for alleged violations of the Articles of War, depending on the outcome of the investigation.

Military officials said the relief does not constitute a finding of guilt and that proceedings are ongoing.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) leadership has repeatedly reminded personnel to remain apolitical and loyal to the Constitution and the chain of command.

The AFP has said it remains professional and steadfast in carrying out its mandate amid political developments.

Civic leader and Palace ally Dr. Jose Antonio Goitia on Saturday said discipline within the armed forces, not public defiance, is essential to preserving democratic institutions, noting that the issue raised by Mongao’s case was not freedom of expression but the position taken by an active-duty military officer.

“In a democracy, dissent is a right of citizens, not a privilege of armed officers,” Goitia said, warning that public political statements by soldiers place institutional neutrality at risk.

Goitia said the distinction exists to prevent personal judgment from overriding the discipline required to maintain stability in a constitutional republic.

He said the timing of Mongao’s alleged social media post on Jan. 9, withdrawing personal support from President Marcos, raised questions after the officer’s name was absent from a mass oath-taking of newly promoted generals held two days earlier.

“The sequence invites an unavoidable question: was this an act of principle, or a final protest after being passed over?” Goitia said.

He stressed that the authority of the President as Commander in Chief flows from the Constitution and the mandate of the Filipino people, not from personal approval by military officers.

“Moral authority is not something one announces. It is vested by law, sustained by institutions, and judged over time,” Goitia said.

He added that recasting personal dissatisfaction as a moral verdict against civilian leadership weakens the constitutional order the military is sworn to protect.

Meanwhile, Goitia said the AFP has remained professional and constitutionally anchored under the current administration, noting there has been no politicization of command.

“These are facts. They do not support claims of moral collapse,” he said.

He warned that when officers act as political commentators, the credibility of the institution itself is placed at risk.

“The uniform is not a platform. It is a responsibility,” Goitia said.

Goitia said criticism of governance belongs in the civilian sphere, while restraint within the military is a form of service that protects democracy.

“Our democracy endures not through defiance, but through discipline,” he said.