The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Monday, Nov. 17, said a resurfaced 2024 video call involving then House Speaker Martin Romualdez, then House Appropriations Chair Rep. Zaldy Co, and military chief General Romeo Brawner Jr. was being deliberately distorted to push a false narrative that the military had been “bought,” “controlled,” or “compromised.”
In the 2:19-minute clip, posted on Romualdez’s Facebook page, he is seen seated beside Co while speaking via video call to an unseen man presumed to be Brawner.
The AFP said that the video was recorded at the time Congress approved the long-pending increase in the subsistence allowance of soldiers, from P150 to P350 per day, and has no link to current political issues.
The AFP emphasized that the initiative to raise the allowance began in December 2023, when President Marcos Jr. personally asked Brawner what immediate assistance could be extended to troops.
Brawner replied: “Sir, maybe we can increase the subsistence allowance of the soldiers. The P150 per day is no longer enough for their meals.” The President answered: “Let’s work on that.”
The AFP said that following Marcos’ directive, coordination moved through the Presidential son and Ilocos Norte 1st District Rep. Sandro Marcos, which reached Co and Romualdez to ensure the increase was properly included in the 2025 national budget.
“There was no political bargaining, no exchange of favors, and no compromise of institutional integrity,” AFP public affairs office chief Col. Xerxes Trinidad said.
However, online content creators were reposting the video and adding political commentaries, accusing Brawner of collusion with Romualdez and Co, both of whom were tagged in the alleged flood control corruption, without offering further proof.
Romualdez has since resigned as House Speaker while Co went into hiding and also quit as the representative of the Ako Bicol Partylist due to allegations of flood control corruption. Both of them denied being involved in corruption.
The AFP said that Brawner’s expression of gratitude toward lawmakers for supporting a reform, as seen in the video, “does not, in any form, give anyone control over the Armed Forces.”
“The AFP’s loyalty has never been dictated by political personalities. Its integrity does not hinge on who assists in delivering much-needed improvements for its people. The AFP’s mandate is—and always will be—anchored solely on the Constitution and the Filipino people,” Trinidad stressed. (Martin Sadongdong)
