Lorenzana: No ‘division’ among troops

“Kung merong lalapit sa inyo na gaganun (If there are those who will ask you), trying to recruit you, wag nyo pakinggan (don’t listen to them).” (PNA photo by Priam F. Nepomuceno)

MANILA — Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on Monday denied reports that the military is divided.

“I don’t think so, that’s just a rumor. Alam mo ‘yung gumagawa ng istoryang ganyan, marami (daw) nangdisgruntled na active military (personnel) pero wala naman kaming nakikita (There are those who really make up stories like that. That there are those active miltary personnel who are disgruntled but we haven’t seen any),,” Lorenzana said in an ambush interview at the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Commissioned Officers Club in Camp Aguinaldo.

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV earlier claimed that members of the AFP are divided over the declaration of his amnesty void ab initio based on Presidential Proclamation 572.

When asked on the morale of AFP personnel, the DND chief said it is very high.

“Mataas (ang morale), katataas lang ng sweldo nila ng doble di mataas ang morale nila (Their morale is high. Their salaries were recently doubled so their morale is high).

So that’s not true but destabilization (is) actually (true), pero ung galing sa (but as for the) CPP/NPA (Communist Party of the Philippines/New People’s Army) which they hatched in 2016 and it was finalized in 2017. Meron na kasing (There is the) Oust Duterte Movement, pinapaano nila yan sa mga galamay nila (Their minions are working on it). I don’t know kung sasakyan yan ng ibang grupo (if other groups are working with them), we do not know,” he added.

Meanwhile, Lorenzana advised troops to ignore individuals asking them to join destablization efforts against the government

“Kung merong lalapit sa inyo na gaganun (If there are those who will ask you), trying to recruit you, wag nyo pakinggan (don’t listen to them),” the DND chief stressed.