The Armed Forces of the Philippines on Thursday reiterated that it would not issue comments on the case of Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV.
“We respect the rule of law and court decisions and processes. This includes the case of Senator Antonio Trillanes IV. The matter is already in the purview of the courts. And to the civil courts we defer,” AFP spokesperson Col. Edgard Arevalo said in a statement.
“We will not issue further statements related to the case,” he added.
On Wednesday, Trillanes dared the defense and military leadership to stand up against President Rodrigo Duterte’s revocation of his amnesty, mainly because of an application form that went supposedly missing from military records.
Despite the allegations that the AFP had been politicized, Arevalo said they will never allow themselves “to take direct or indirect participation in any political actions against the present duly constituted authorities.”
Those who will be caught involving themselves in political actions “will be dealt with severely and personnel who will get involved will be immediately relieved from their posts, investigated, and meted stiff penalties where warranted,” he added. /je