Military told to follow chain of command amid tense political climate

MANILA, Philippines — The chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines reminded the military on Monday, November 25, to follow the chain of command as the political feud between the president and the vice president heats up.

The AFP on the same day also debunked posts circulating online that falsely claim its troops have been deployed to protect Vice President Sara Duterte, who recently shared her plan to have President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. assassinated should she be killed.

Speaking at an AFP event, AFP Chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. stressed the military's commitment to professionalism amid the country's charged political climate.

"In the past days, we have seen a myriad of events that have shaken the political environment of our country. As soldiers, we should not be shaken by this," Brawner said, addressing military personnel. 

Brawner reminded the military that their loyalty should be to the Constitution and their positions and not to individuals.

"That means that we have to follow the chain of command. We said [in our vow] that we are loyal to our country, we are loyal to our flag, we are loyal to our organization and we are loyal to the Constitution," Brawner said, adding: "This also goes to say that we are loyal to the duly constituted authorities, whoever that may be."

In a statement, the AFP also advised the public about false claims circulating on social media about the deployment of its troops "in connection with current events."

Some of the posts shown in the AFP statement are screengrabs of TikTok videos that claim the AFP has sent soldiers to protect or side with the vice president.

"These claims come from unreliable sources and are not supported by any official AFP releases," the AFP said.

"Attempts to undermine our military and democratic institutions with these fraudulent posts will not be tolerated," it added.

On Saturday morning, Duterte said in a profanity-laced press conference that she has ordered a hitman to prepare to assassinate Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and House Speaker Martin Romualdez should she also be killed.

The government has ordered an investigation into Duterte's remarks, which Marcos' security team has tagged as an "active threat."

Hours after, the AFP issued a statement reaffirming that it follows the chain of command. It also reminded the public that it remains "non-partisan" while calling for "calm and resolve."

Duterte's remarks were made hours after she announced that she was ignoring House orders to leave the Batasang Pambansa complex in order to accompany her detained chief-of-staff, Zuleika Lopez.

The vice president has previously refused to attend hearings of the House good government panel into her alleged misuse of confidential funds. She believes the panel's order to detain her aide and the continuing probe on the Office of the Vice President's confidential expenses are power moves orchestrated by Romualdez for the 2028 polls. 

Without mentioning Duterte, Marcos on Monday said he would not let certain "criminal acts" pass. 

In January, the AFP reactivated its Counterintelligence Group amid rumors of attempts to overthrow the government.

Marcos was also plagued by rumors of a destabilization plot among retired military generals in November last year. This came months after the House — dominated by the president's allies — stripped Duterte of her request for confidential funds for the OVP and the Department of Education.