President Ferdinand Marcos Jr joins (from left) Special Assistant to the President Antonio Lagdameo, Exec. Sec. Lukas Bersamin,  Defense Sec. Gibo Teodoro and Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo S. Browner during the Armed Forces of the Philippines 1st Semester 2024 Command Conference at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City on July 4, 2024. Revoli S. Cortez, PPA pool

MANILA — The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine Navy on Tuesday dismissed as false the radio commentary of a retired general who claimed that generals had walked out during a July 4 command conference with a top government official.

“That’s fake news. I was there personally, there’s nothing of that sort that happened. It was a very professional exchange of ideas and discussion…and it ended on a positive note,” Col. Francel Margareth Padilla, AFP spokesperson,  told reporters during a weekly media briefing at Villamor Air Base in Pasay City.

Padilla did not give other details on the command conference.

READ: Retired military generals say no destabilization plot vs Marcos admin

Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad, Navy spokesman for the West Philippine Sea, also denied the claims, saying the chain of command remains intact.

He added the military maintains a robust working relationship with higher headquarters, particularly the Department of National Defense.

“That is 50 percent fabrication, 50 percent imagination, 100 percent false. The AFP senior officers and the entire organization conducts itself with the highest level of professionalism,” Trinidad said in a chance interview.

He added the claims were part of “Marites warfare,” using vernacular slang for a gossipmonger.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. headed the mid-year command conference at the AFP General Headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City on July 4 with Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr., Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, Special Assistant to the President Antonio Lagdameo, Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr — AFP chief — along with service unit commanders, ground commanders, and other high-ranking officials.

Marcos instructed the military at that conference to de-escalate tensions in the West Philippine Sea, according to Brawner.

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