MANILA – On Saturday, the Marcos administration distanced itself from “unverified or fictional pledges” of purported undisclosed non-binding gentleman agreements or arrangements aimed at generating distractions, discord, and tension.
National Security Council (NSC) Adviser Eduardo Año stated in a Saturday release that President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has unequivocally stated that his administration has no knowledge of any covert or gentleman’s agreements concerning its territories.
“If any such agreements were made under a previous administration, they have since been revoked,” Año clarified.
Any such agreement, if proven to be true, are inimical to the national interest and the constitution, he said.
“If there is any such agreement, it is the responsibility of those responsible for it to explain it before the Filipino people but it is not and will never be binding upon this administration,” Año said.
He called on all Filipinos to stand their ground and push back against “corrosive narratives” that seek to undermine the national interest.
“We should not fall into a trap which clearly seeks to sow division in our country and weaken our resolve in asserting our sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction in the West Philippine Sea,” he said.
At the Saturday News Forum in Quezon City, NSC Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya assured the President has the full support of the police and the military.
“Ang panawagan po ng (The call of) National Security Adviser is let us insulate our Armed Forces and the Philippine National Police from partisan political activities. Huwag po natin silang gagamitin (Let us not use them) because in any democracy, the Armed Forces is supposed to be neutral and apolitical — kahit po sino magpalit-palit ng administrasyon, iyon po ‘yung (even if the administration changes, it is just the) commander-in-chief,” Malaya said.
“Hindi sila magbibitaw ng mga salita to (They will not) withdraw support from the President just because someone asked them to do so. They are professionals, they know the chain of command and they respect the rule of the military hierarchy and they have loyalty to the current Commander-In-Chief, President Bongbong Marcos,” Malaya added. (PND/PNA)
