Camp visits are not loyalty checks, says military chief

Armed Forces chief General Gregorio Catapang. RYAN LEAGOGO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—Armed Forces chief General Gregorio Catapang said Saturday there was no need to conduct loyalty checks among soldiers because there was no question they were loyal to the republic.

During a visit to the Armed Forces of the Philippines Western Mindanao Command in Zamboanga City, Catapang said his frequent tour of military camps should not be misconstrued as a form of loyalty check just because  Senator Antonio Trillanes claimed getting wind of a brewing destabilization plot.

“I was asked, umiikot ba ako to conduct loyalty check? I told them that our soldiers are all loyal to the republic, so there’s no need for a loyalty check,” he told reporters, adding that there was no imminent danger of a coup.

The troop visits, particularly face-to-face contacts,  were necessary since he was only recently made chief of staff of the AFP.

He said it was unfortunate that some people were exploiting the Disbursement Acceleration Program controversy and equating this with the morale of the troops.

Lieutenant Colonel Noel Detoyato,  Philippine Army spokesperson, said the Army was confident of the loyalty and high professionalism of the troops in the field.

“In the first place, how can you conduct a loyalty check?  You ask them a question and give them an exam? That’s impossible,” Detoyato said. “Our soldiers are loyal to the Constitution and they are very professional.”

Catapang said there would be a reorganization in some military camps whose commanders are due for retirement.

He stressed that the reorganization was necessary to make the military more effective in addressing new threats as it transitions its mission from addressing internal security threats to territorial defense.

“I’ve always stated that the problems of the 21st century in a globalized world will always be global— global terrorism, global climate change, global maritime concern, global transnational crime and hopefully not global weapons of mass destruction,” Catapang said.

“So we will continuously shift, based on our AFP Transformation Roadmap. We will try to transition toward territorial defense,”  he said.

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