Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff General Romeo Brawner Jr. revealed that some retired military officers had called on the armed forces to withdraw their support from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., but the appeal was rejected by active members of the military.
Speaking at a public forum, Brawner said the appeal was made amid nationwide protests over alleged anomalies in flood control projects. “The grievances were mainly against the President,” he stated, noting that the retired officers claimed “somebody else deserves to be President,” though they did not name who.
According to a report from GMA News Online, Brawner explained that recruitment attempts were made by the retired officers to persuade him and other commanders to intervene “through several means,” including a possible coup d’état, a military junta, or withdrawal of support from the administration.
However, the AFP chief assured that no such activities occurred during the September 21 protests. “As the chief of staff, I was confident already that none of the members of the Armed Forces would, in fact, heed the call by some sectors, by some individuals, to intervene, because of the professionalism that we have reached in the Armed Forces of the Philippines,” he said.
Brawner added that the AFP informed President Marcos of the situation. “We mentioned this to the President, him being our commander-in-chief. And he just said that, ‘I trust the AFP, I trust you to do the right thing.’ And so he wasn’t really that worried,” he shared.
The Department of National Defense (DND) also dismissed rumors of a coup plot. Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. clarified, “Walang nagbalak sa AFP. Maraming nagdadasal na may nagbalak sana. Pero walang nagbabalak sa AFP.”
GMA News Online reported that the Association of Generals and Flag Officers (AGFO), along with other groups, had met with President Marcos on September 19—just days before the September 21 anti-corruption rallies where violence broke out in Mendiola, Manila.
