MANILA: Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr is facing growing unrest from retired generals, with some veterans even urging active commanders to withdraw support for the president, South China Morning Post reported citing multiple senior military sources.
At the centre of the discontent are two flashpoints: allegations that billions of Philippine pesos have been lost to fictitious flood-control projects and proposed pension changes that former officers say would leave them worse off than their civilian counterparts.
The controversy has sparked what insiders describe as a quiet but serious push by some military retirees – including those allegedly aligned with former president Rodrigo Duterte – to pressure the armed forces’ top brass into turning against Marcos.
Two senior officers, speaking on condition of anonymity, told This Week in Asia that retired air force major general Romeo Poquiz, described as “allegedly with the Duterte group”, recently met Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Romeo Brawner Jnr to persuade him – and other active commanders – to abandon Marcos.
The effort, the officials said, was ultimately rejected.
“He spoke to General Brawner before the rallies on September 21,” one officer said, adding that Brawner rejected their call to withdraw his support for the president.
The September 21 rallies – dubbed the “Trillion Peso March” and staged at sites in Manila and across the Philippines – were organised to protest against the flood-control corruption scandal and drew tens of thousands of participants.
The other officer who attended the meeting clarified that Brawner was not alone and that senior commanders from the army, navy and air force were also present.
“We listened to what Poquiz had to say,” the officer said, “and then we stated the stand of the [Armed Forces of the Philippines] – to stay united and follow the chain of command. Period.”
He accused the Poquiz group of being “very deceptive” for claiming neutrality in person while “calling for the resignation of the president and promoting Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio” in public forums and online.
Duterte-Carpio is the daughter of former president Rodrigo Duterte, and though she ran with Marcos as his vice-presidential partner in 2022, the once-allied Duterte and Marcos clans have since fallen into an escalating political feud.
As rumours of destabilisation swirled, Marcos took the unusual step of meeting representatives of 10 of the country’s largest organisations of retired officers on September 19, just days before the protest rallies.
According to retired lieutenant general Edilberto Adan, a former deputy chief of staff who now sits on the board of the Association of Generals and Flag Officers, the president himself invited the delegation to the palace to hear their concerns.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr (left) walks with Philippine military chief General Romeo Brawner Jnr at Camp Aguinaldo military headquarters in Quezon City, the Philippines, on July 4, 2024. Photo: AP
President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr (left) walks with Philippine military chief General Romeo Brawner Jnr at Camp Aguinaldo military headquarters in Quezon City, the Philippines, on July 4, 2024. Photo: AP
“I presented a manifesto to the president,” Adan told the defence press corps and the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines on Tuesday. “The president welcomed it.”
The document highlighted two main grievances: the need to punish those responsible for the “massive” misuse of public infrastructure funds, and the overhaul of the military pension system, which veterans argue has been left behind compared to civilian schemes.
In addition, Adan said the group urged the Marcos administration to double the defence budget from 1 per cent to 2 per cent of GDP and pass a long-stalled anti-espionage law to help authorities act against foreign spies even in peacetime.
When asked by This Week in Asia if the groups were issuing demands, Adan replied: “Those were not demands, those were concerns.”
He said Marcos had also encouraged the veterans to speak to their peers who were advocating for destabilisation.
He also suggested that those approaching soldiers to take part in destabilisation attempts could be charged with the crime of “inciting to sedition”.
While Adan did not directly accuse any group of trying to topple Marcos, he said the president’s critics could be playing into the hands of foreign rivals.
“I never said there was a direct connection between China and destabilisation attempts,” he said. “What I said is, an unstable government affected in its decision-making can benefit our adversaries.”
He also denied claims that foreign powers were funding the efforts. “I’m just saying that there are certain entities who could be taking advantage if we become weak and unstable.”
President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr, accompanied by a US soldier, inspects a high mobility artillery rocket system (HIMARS) at a naval training base in Zambales province in April 2023. Photo: AFP
President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr, accompanied by a US soldier, inspects a high mobility artillery rocket system (HIMARS) at a naval training base in Zambales province in April 2023. Photo: AFP
Brawner himself has echoed those concerns, urging the military to remain united because “someone else will benefit” from any discord.
In a press briefing on Tuesday, military spokeswoman Colonel Francel Margareth Padilla pushed back against what she called lies and disinformation spreading online.
“These [destabilisation] plots that they say are taking place, there is no truth to these. The armed forces are intact, professional and disciplined.”
Padilla warned that even those retired from the service had “taken an oath and that oath does not expire [because retirees still] remain part of the nation’s defence structure”.
She likened the military to a sentry watching from a tower. “While those below are busy spreading lies, we are focused on watching into the distance, preparing for territorial defence and humanitarian rescue. We are not affected by any noise.”
Despite official denials, veteran journalist and Pulitzer Prize winner Manuel Mogato warned in a column that the crisis had come dangerously close to a tipping point.
In his piece, published on September 21 in the digital news outlet Mencari, Mogato wrote that a religious leader had urged a senior army commander to turn against Marcos, assuring him that half a million demonstrators would march to Malacanang Palace to demand change. That mass mobilisation, the commander was told, would serve as the trigger for the military to withdraw support.
The commander ultimately rejected the idea, Mogato wrote, but not before masked protesters clashed with police outside the presidential palace, hurling petrol bombs and rocks.
“For now, Marcos remains in power,” he concluded. “But the forces that gathered against him – corruption scandals, economic strain, and the allure of strongman alternatives – remain potent.
“If the administration fails to deliver visible accountability, the next plot may not falter at the eleventh hour.”
The presidential palace on Tuesday confirmed the generals’ meeting with Marcos. Press Undersecretary Claire Castro said: “The president trusts that our soldiers will continue to be firm and that they will abide by the constitution.”
