AFP public affairs chief relieved after feud with netizens over Pemberton custody

Army Lt. Col. Harold “Harry” M. Cabunoc (Inf) PA. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines–For the first time in the history of the public affairs office of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), its chief has been relieved after feuding with netizens critical of the military.

Army Lieutenant Colonel Harold Cabunoc served a mere two months as the chief of the AFP public affairs office.

Cabunoc, a battle-tested Army Ranger, was probably one of the most active officers on social media, even maintaining a blog that he has been updating regularly.

As of Wednesday, there had yet to be an official announcement on Cabunoc’s relief but newly designated AFP spokesperson, Colonel Restituto Padilla, has recently been approving the release of press statements from the military headquarters.

Padilla was a long-time spokesperson for the Air Force.

In an interview with the Philippine Daily Inquirer last week, Padilla would not confirm if Cabunoc’s relief was a result of his fights with netizens, which began in late October after the family of slain transgender woman Jennifer Laude forced themselves into a secured compound of the AFP headquarters to see for themselves the suspect, US Marine Private First Class Joseph Scott Pemberton.

“Regarding the involvement of some of our members, this could be borne by their sense of responsibility to defend the institution. When they see (negative) comments, that sense of obligation kicks in and they feel they need to defend their unit or organization,” Padilla said.

Cabunoc’s relief came as a surprise, especially after a few weeks ago, he just had recommended to AFP Chief of Staff Gregorio Pio Catapang an investigation into the memes that were circulating in social media, which he said “mocked” him and Catapang himself.

Catapang approved the recommendation. The memo, called a “disposition form,” showed an instruction by Catapang’s head executive assistance referring the matter to the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (Isafp).

Cabunoc suspected that the memes making fun of him and Catapang were made by military personnel using assumed names on Facebook and Twitter.

The memo was leaked to the netizens who also posted it on their Facebook pages, one of whom was specifically identified by Cabunoc in his recommendation.

Netizens perceived the AFP as siding with Pemberton, especially after Catapang himself awarded the soldier who was pushed by Laude’s fiancé, Marc Suesselbeck, for exercising maximum tolerance.

In his Twitter wars, Cabunoc told one netizen that talking to him was an “epic fail” because the latter was joining the discussion without reading the whole thread of the conversation.

But Cabunoc was particularly suspicious of one netizen named “Cassandra Pod” whom he suspected of being behind an alleged campaign to have him removed from the public affairs office.

“Cassandra POD” told the Inquirer in a message over the weekend that Cabunoc’s travails with netizens began when he “attacked netizens for simply asking questions and disagreeing with him on the issue of Suesselbeck and Laude’s sister.”

“If he didn’t agree with other netizens, he can raise his point nicely without name-calling or ignore it all together. He should have realized that everything he says or writes will be taken against the AFP, which he is assigned to represent but he screwed up in many ways,” she said.

“Cassandra POD” has been an anonymous account until the AFP investigation recommended by Cabunoc.

On Monday, she revealed her identity to assure the military that she was not one of its officers, although she comes from a military family. She also apologized to Cabunoc for her harsh criticisms of him. On Wednesday, however, Cassandra’s Facebook account cannot be accessed.

Padilla assured the public that any investigation by the AFP would not cover civilians.

He said the military personnel who could be behind the memes against Catapang and Cabunoc were expected to follow the social media regulations released by the AFP in 2013.

Padilla said Cabunoc’s leaked memo “may need to be looked into because there could have been some breach in protocol.”

“It behooves the organization to look into it,” Padilla said, even if it was not a confidential document.

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