AFP: Alvarez may be delisted as marine reservist due to withdrawal call

Davao del Norte Representative Pantaleon Alvarez might be delisted as a marine reservist following his appeal to the military to withdraw support for President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said Wednesday.

Interviewed in a public briefing on Wednesday, AFP spokesperson Colonel Francel Margareth Padilla said that Alvarez was a reservist in the Philippine Marine Corps, but was “not active as of this time.”

“Also, when he stated that, he was not stating that in the capacity of being a reservist. He wasn’t in uniform and not really ‘yun ‘yung kinuha niyang personality (that was his personality) when he spoke about this,” she said.

During a rally with former President Rodrigo Duterte in Tagum City on Sunday, Alvarez called on the military organization to withdraw support from Marcos, expressing concerns regarding a possible war in the West Philippine Sea.

Padilla said that they have deferred this issue to “higher level works,” noting that the Department of Justice (DOJ) was already conducting an investigation into the matter.

“But in terms of the laws of the AFP, sa policies natin, meron naman po, in our Articles of War that can handle it, and he can be separated from the reservist; and delisted,” she added.

(Based on our laws and policies in the AFP, what he did could be covered under our Articles of War. He can be separated from the reservist; and delisted.)

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. earlier said that calls for the AFP to withdraw support from Marcos are “futile” and would only lead to a “possible criminal investigation.”

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla on Tuesday ordered an investigation on whether Alvarez’s call was seditious.

Alvarez on Tuesday, however, denied committing sedition, adding that what he said was “peaceful” and “orderly.”

The congressman also said that he did not call for an armed conflict or public uprising, and that his call did not involve force or intimidation. — VDV, GMA Integrated News