Major General Benedict Arevalo, the deputy chief of staff for civil-military operations of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, is taking a leave of absence after his staff published an erroneous list that tagged alumni of the University of the Philippines as members of the New People’s Army (NPA).

Arevalo's decision to take a leave came after Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana fired the deputy chief of staff for intelligence Maj. Gen. Alex Luna over the release of the list.

In a statement, Arevalo confirmed that the erroneous list was a mistake committed by J7 staff, "and as the Chief of Office for Civil Military Operations, J7, I personally take responsibility of their actions."

"This is the reason why I issued a public apology and reiterated it in my succeeding interviews. The procedure my staff did to post in FB, was confined in my office," he said.

He added that he is taking a leave of absence "so as not to influence the ongoing investigation."

Lorenzana earlier said he ordered Luna's removal from his post effective Thursday due to his "unforgivable lapse."

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"His negligence only shows a lackadaisical attitude towards his job resulting to confusion and damage to reputation. We do not take these offenses lightly and I want to hold the people involved accountable," said Lorenzana of Luna.

The list of names of UP alumni who supposedly died or were arrested as NPA members, came from Luna's office, according to Lorenzana.

The list was also shown by the defense chief during a press conference Wednesday last week to back his unilateral termination of a 1989 accord with the university, which drew public outcry over supposed disregard for academic freedom.

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Several UP alumni expressed concern and came out in the open, disputing the list, and demanded an apology from the AFP, pointing out that they never joined the NPA or were arrested.

The list included the names of lawyer Rafael Aquino, film director Behn Cervantes, playwright Liza Magtoto, journalist Roel Landigin, and former Integrated Bar of the Philippines president Roan Libarios, among others.

Marie Lisa Dacanay, president of the Institute for Social Entrepreneurship in Asia, earlier said that the AFP must be held accountable for releasing what she called "false news."

Following the backlash, Lorenzana said the AFP will apologize, describing the mistake as an "unpardonable gaffe."