• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The Philippine Army’s 3rd Infantry Division (3ID) has dismissed reports of destabilization plot or movement against the government amid rumors of coup d’etat.
In a statement, Maj. Gen Marion Sison, commander of 3ID, said that soldiers had learned hard lessons from similar undertakings in the past, noting that it did not only adversely affect the Philippine Army as an organization, but also destroyed the lives of many soldiers, compromised the welfare of their families, and caused tremendous damage to the nation’s economy and stability.
“With utmost certainty, I can assure you that nobody at 3ID will become a party to any similar undertaking,” he added.
In 1986, the late President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. was ousted from office, through a bloodless People Power Revolution, after then Defense Secretary Juan Ponce Enrile and the late Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) vice chief of staff Fidel Ramos had withdrawn their support to his administration.
“We have seen the horrors that this situation will bring. We will not go back to those trying days. Our loyalty shall always be to our Constitution, to the duly constituted authority, and to the people we have sworn to protect,” Sison said.
The 3ID supervises three Army infantry brigades, composed of eight battalions, stationed in Negros and Panay islands.
On Saturday, the AFP assured the public there are no attempts to overthrow the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and that AFP chief of staff Gen. Romeo S. Brawner Jr. was merely misquoted in the media when speaking about destabilization plots. | GB
