Daven Tamayo

‘You cannot resign via social media’: AFP says no reported resignations after Duterte’s arrest

Article (news)

Bianca Dava

ABS-CBN News

MANILA -- The Armed Forces of the Philippines on Tuesday said there are no reports of resignations of its personnel following the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte.Duterte was arrested on March 11 on a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity committed during his administration’s bloody drug war.Amid alleged reports of soldiers and policemen resigning to protest the incident, AFP spokesperson Colonel Francel Margareth Padilla assured that the status of the military remains stable.“There is no declaration of red alert but we are prepared for any eventuality to augment our law enforcement agencies accordingly,” Padilla told reporters in a press briefing at the Philippine Navy Headquarters in Manila.“There is no need to conduct loyalty checks. We are united, we are professional and we are laser-focused on our mandate of protecting the people and securing the State,” she added.Padilla said the AFP has a structured resignation process, explaining that personnel cannot just “resign via social media.”“Strictly, ang ating resignation is a formal process. You cannot resign via social media. Hindi ka pwedeng mag-post na nagreresign ka. I don’t think that is the proper forum,” the military spokesperson said.“We have necessary social media policies in place. Any personnel found to be violating this will be sanctioned accordingly,” she added.Padilla called on the public to exercise critical discernment and avoid spreading unconfirmed information.She also emphasized that the AFP remains non-partisan and professional.“We have proper avenues; we have mechanisms like a grievance committee sa AFP. They can make use of that. Social media is not an avenue that is formal na maglabas sila ng kanilang saloobin,” Padilla noted.Meanwhile, Philippine Navy spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad stressed that the AFP Chain of Command must remain intact despite efforts by some groups to weaken it through disinformation.“Interest groups, domestic and foreign, would like to sow intrigue, misinformation, disinformation, malinformation to weaken the Chain of Command and cause it to break, kaya importanteng manatiling buo ang AFP Chain of Command,” Trinidad said.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines on Tuesday said there are no reports of resignations of its personnel following the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines on Tuesday said there are no reports of resignations of its personnel following the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte.