AFP denies barring retired officers from entering camps

Camp Aguinaldo, General Headquarters of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. (File photo from Radyo Inquirer)

MANILA, Philippines — The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) denied on Tuesday a rumor that retired officers were being barred from entering camps due to alleged calls among them to destabilize the administration of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.

“There is no veracity to that report,” the AFP spokesperson, Col. Francel Magareth Padilla, said over AM radio station DWPM when asked about the matter.

Padilla explained that this month military camps started tightening security due to the annual renewal of decals.

“It could not be affiliated with such issues, but it’s really just part of the standard operating procedures,” she said, speaking partly in Filipino.

She explained that there are different decals for active officers, and retired ones could still acquire them “as long as they are sponsored by an active officer.”

Last year, AFP chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. urged the active personnel of the AFP not to join the alleged movement by retired officials as he noted that there had been efforts to recruit from among their ranks.

However, Padilla said: “At this point in time, we have no findings of anything that will be leading towards a destabilization plot.”