Alvarez may be delisted as Marine reservist after Marcos ouster call

Davao del Norte 1st District Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez   (INQUIRER FILES)

MANILA, Philippines — Davao del Norte 1st Dist. Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez may be delisted as a Marine reservist after urging the Armed Forces of the Philippines to withdraw its support for President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., according to AFP spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla.

 “In terms of the laws of the AFP, in our policy, we have the Articles of War that can handle it, and he can be separated from the service and delisted,” Padilla said in a public briefing on Wednesday.

Alvarez, who is bearing the rank of colonel, on Sunday enjoined the AFP to “peacefully” withdraw their support to Marcos to avert a possible war over the West Philippine Sea issue, which he said would bring “countless of dead bodies, unimaginable destruction, famine and hunger.”

Padilla, however, noted that “when he stated that, he is not stating that in the capacity of being a reservist. He wasn’t in uniform.”

The AFP has since dismissed such calls, vowing loyalty to the Constitution and the chain of command.

National Security Adviser and former AFP chief Eduardo Año on Wednesday called Alvarez’s remarks “seditious” and “illegal” while Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. earlier dismissed Alvarez’ calls.

Alvarez called for the AFP’s wothdrawal of support for Marcos amid the mounting tension in the West Philippine Sea.

The resupply activity of BRP Sierra Madre grounded in Ayungin Shoal and the humanitarian activities in Scarborough Shoal become the flashpoint of tensions between Manila and Beijing.

Beijing asserts sovereignty in the entire South China Sea, including most of the West Philippine Sea, even if such a claim has been effectively invalidated by a July 2016 international tribunal ruling that stemmed from a case filed by Manila in 2013.