AFP welcomes Duterte support in Facebook issue

September 29, 2020

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) welcomes the support by President Rodrigo Duterte after Facebook took down accounts linked to the military and police.

"We are thankful to the Commander-in-Chief’s expression of support to the AFP’s campaign that, after all, may well be every Filipinos’ war against the Communist Terrorist Group NPA—to include affiliated underground mass organizations— that have caused the misery of our people for more than 50 years," said Major General Edgard Arevalo, AFP spokesman, on Tuesday.

"The AFP views Facebook and other Socmed outfits as platforms to disseminate accurate information that would empower our people to see through the lies and reject terrorist organizations masquerading as pro-people," he said.

"FB could be the medium that will help consolidate peoples’ support to their armed forces as their true protectors and defenders of the state against its enemies," he added.

Arevalo said "the AFP is one with the President in his call for FB executives to sit down and discuss with the government how the Filipinos will benefit from the popularity of FB and its presence in the Philippines."

"It is also for this reason that we appealed to FB executives to look into the contents of the accounts of groups that have been taken down like Hands-Off Our Children which is the aggregation of parents bound by the NPA’s deadly and deceptive recruitment of their children," he added. Robina Asido/DMS