The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Department of National Defense (DND) slammed as “fake news” online posts claiming that President Rodrigo Duterte is losing the support of military officers over his pacifist approach toward the Chinese militarization of the West Philippine Sea. 

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In separate statements on Sunday, April 18, AFP chief of staff Lieutenant General Cirilito Sobejana and DND Secretary Delfin Lorenzana denied the existence of a Viber group of 500 active and retired military personnel who allegedly plan to withdraw their support from their Commander-in-Chief.

“We assure our people that your soldiers, airmen, sailors, and marines are firmly behind the chain of command,” said a statement attributed to Sobejana.

“And if in the future they will actually create such a group, (Sobejana) disavows the presence or association of officers and enlisted personnel to a group of such mindset,” added the statement.

Lorenzana also said DND officials will “never” be part of such a group.

“We denounce the irresponsible propaganda being propagated in online posts alleging that a group of retired and active military officers are withdrawing their support for the President. This is fake news!” said the DND secretary.

In the past week, a Twitter account named Info Ops has been posting about an alleged Viber group composed of military officers who are supposedly demanding Duterte to take a stronger stance against China. If not, they would stop supporting him.

The West Philippine Sea is part of the South China Sea that belongs to the Philippines but China is falsely claiming as its own.

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In 2016, the Philippines had won its historic tribunal case against China, with a Hague tribunal junking the regional giant’s expansive claim over the South China Sea. 

But no less than Duterte himself has downplayed this victory numerous times, claiming that insisting on the Philippines’ legal triumph would only spark war with China.

“The demand of the Viber 500 and the retired generals in Pres Duterte’s Cabinet, except retired CSAFP Galvez, to denounce China’s invasion in the strongest possible terms is now impossible to ignore. A withdrawal of support is very imminent,” Info Ops tweeted on April 15.

The tweets were posted amid the continued presence of at least 240 Chinese military ships in the West Philippine Sea.

Since April 5, the Philippines has lodged daily diplomatic protests against China over the lingering presence of its ships, vowing one would be filed “every day” so long as China’s vessels remained in Philippine waters.

‘Destabilizers’ told to stop ‘malicious’ posts

On Sunday, Lorenzana blasted the “destabilizers” behind the posts and ordered them to stop spreading “malicious statements.”

“We call on these destabilizers to cease from propagating malicious statements especially at a time when our people should all be coming together in the face of the challenges that we are all currently facing. You are not helping our country and people at all,” Lorenzana said. 

Sobejana likewise denied a supposed text message making rounds on social media claiming that “warplanes” from various countries were allegedly taking off and landing at Clark Airbase. 

“We have issued a statement dismissing that SMS as fake news. No such landings or taking off of aircraft from other countries are taking place. The AFP is on normal alert as opposed to the claim of that spurious sender,” said Sobejana.

The AFP chief then said the controversial posts aim to “create panic and confusion” and advised the public to remain calm.

“The AFP is a professional organization committed to safeguard democracy and protect its democratic institutions. We will focus on our mission and continue to perform our constitutional mandates. We will veer away, as we appeal to all quarters to spare your AFP from partisan politics,” said Sobejana. – Rappler.com