THE Department of National Defense (DND) doesn’t like the idea of allowing “communists” to be part of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) reservist list.
No less than Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. called on the AFP to look into the status of Senator Robin Padilla as a Philippine Army (PA) reservist following the latter’s admission of being a “communist” during a Senate plenary session.
According to Teodoro, the AFP has its own procedures to determine whether Padilla’s statement has implications on his status in the reserve force.
“Well, the AFP should probably take note of that and do its processes accordingly,” Teodoro said when asked about Padilla’s admission.
Padilla, sitting as a senator-judge, made the remark during the fifth day of the impeachment trial against Vice President Sara Duterte last July 14, declaring himself as a communist during his inquiry of National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Atty. Jeremy Lotoc regarding the historical background of “Operation Romanov.”
At the witness stand, Lotoc categorically claimed that “Operation Romanov,” was an alleged assassination plot against President Marcos and his family.
Padilla, who dons a rank of lieutenant colonel as AFP reservist, later clarified his statement — that he isn’t part of the 50-year old Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) that has already been classified as a terrorist group
The senator insisted that his statement referred to his personal political beliefs and not to membership in any armed movement.
Padilla joined the military as a reservist in 2019. He was eventually commissioned as a captain before he was bestowed the rank of reserve lieutenant colonel.
In 2020, he was elected chairperson of the Philippine Army’s Multi-Sectoral Advisory Board Strategic Communication Committee.
In December 2021, the Philippine Army relieved Padilla and other reservists seeking elective posts of their organizational assignments to preserve the military’s nonpartisan character.
However, the Army clarified that they remained members of the reserve force.
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