Malacañang said Tuesday that the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is monitoring and verifying social media claims alleging a supposed destabilization plot against the administration involving several prominent political figures, including Vice President Sara Duterte, Davao City Rep. Paolo “Pulong” Duterte, and Chavit Singson.
In a Palace briefing, Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro said the AFP has taken note of the allegations raised by columnist Ramon Tulfo in an online post, which also mentioned several retired and active military officials.
“The AFP has noticed the circulating information, including names like General (Romeo) Poquiz, General Orlando de Leon, Mayor Benjie Magalong, and Colonel (Raymund) Lachica, who was allegedly involved in the issue concerning the P125 million confidential funds of the Vice President,” Castro said.
According to Castro, the AFP has turned over the matter to its intelligence community to validate the authenticity of the claims.
“These kinds of statements, while found on social media, are being forwarded to their intelligence community for monitoring and truth verification,” she said. “Just because something is posted online does not mean it should be immediately believed. It must be validated,” Castro added.
Asked whether the Palace considers the destabilization report a serious threat, Castro said the government is leaving the matter to security agencies.
“It is now with the intelligence community. If they see something that truly requires attention, the President will not ignore it,” she said.
When pressed about retired generals allegedly reaching out to AFP Chief General Romeo Brawner to withdraw support from the administration, Castro said the issue must be thoroughly investigated.
“This needs to be investigated because while they may claim freedom of expression, we have to determine where that freedom ends and whether it becomes part of an effort to destabilize the government,” she explained.
Castro added that as of now, there is no indication that anyone has violated any law.
“We cannot yet say that these individuals have committed any legal violations. This has to be investigated more deeply,” she said.
