MANILA — The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine Navy have refuted claims made by a retired general alleging that generals walked out during a July 4 command conference with a top government official.
“That’s fake news. I was there personally, there’s nothing of that sort that happened. It was a very professional exchange of ideas and discussion…and it ended on a positive note,” stated Col. Francel Margareth Padilla, AFP spokesperson, during a weekly media briefing at Villamor Air Base in Pasay City.
Padilla did not provide additional details about the command conference.
Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad, Navy spokesman for the West Philippine Sea, also denied the allegations, emphasizing that the chain of command remains intact.
He further noted that the military maintains a strong 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 conduct themselves with the highest level of professionalism,” Trinidad said during a chance interview.
He added that the claims were part of “Marites warfare,” using vernacular slang for a gossipmonger.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. presided over the mid-year command conference at the AFP General Headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City on July 4. He was accompanied by Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr., Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, Special Assistant to the President Antonio Lagdameo, Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. — AFP chief — along with service unit commanders, ground commanders, and other high-ranking officials.
According to Brawner, Marcos instructed the military at the conference to de-escalate tensions in the West Philippine Sea.