MANILA — Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro on Saturday said he has “no reason to doubt” that the Armed Forces of the Philippines “would remain professional” despite political bickering over the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte.

Teodoro gave the comment days after rumors of resignations by uniformed personnel, and after Vice President Sara Duterte asked at a Senate hearing why the military remained “silent” during her father’s arrest.

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“It has never been unsolid, and I have no reason to doubt that they would remain professional and they would follow their duty according to the constitution,” Teodoro told reporters on the sidelines of the Philippine Army’s 128th founding anniversary.

“Civilian supremacy remains,” he added.

The AFP follows a chain of command with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at the top as commander in chief. It has refrained from commenting on political developments except to stress its adherence to the chain of command and to the Constitution.

Teodoro declined to comment on how he intends to insulate the military from political power struggles and rivalries between factions.

Earlier this week, Teodoro told a Senate panel that the AFP had no role in Duterte’s arrest as the institution has “no law enforcement mandate.”

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The former president was arrested on March 11 after he landed at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant.

After hours of detention at the Villamor Air Base, the elder Duterte was taken aboard a chartered flight, and flown to the Netherlands where he will face the international tribunal for charges of crimes against humanity linked to his administration’s drug war.

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