MANILA – The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine Navy denied a report that generals had walked out during a July 4 command conference with a top government official.
In separate interviews on Wednesday, the AFP and Navy dismissed as false the radio commentary of a retired general who claimed that the generals left the meeting.
“That’s fake news. I was there. Nothing of that sort happened. It was a very professional exchange of ideas and discussion…and it ended on a positive note,” AFP spokesperson Colonel Francel Margareth Padilla said.
Navy spokesman for the West Philippine Sea, Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, for his part, also denied the claims, saying the chain of command remains intact.
Trinidad added that the military maintains a robust working relationship with higher headquarters, particularly the Department of National Defense.
“That is 50 percent fabrication, 50 percent imagination, 100 percent false. The AFP senior officers and the entire organization conducts itself with the highest level of professionalism,” Trinidad said.
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. presided the mid-year command conference at the AFP General Headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City on July 4.
Among those present were Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr., Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, Special Assistant to the President Antonio Lagdameo, General Romeo Brawner Jr. — the AFP chief — along with service unit commanders, ground commanders, and other high-ranking officials.
President Marcos ordered the military at that command conference to de-escalate tensions in the West Philippine Sea./PN
