AFP chief: Marines at Senate to secure facility

MANILA, Philippines —  Members of the Philippine Marines were at the Senate complex on Wednesday to secure the area and not just individual senators, Armed Forces chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. said, as he emphasized that none of them fired the shots that triggered a melee while uniformed armed men were supposedly searching for Sen. Ronald dela Rosa.

“My instruction to the soldiers nationwide is for everyone to remain calm, disciplined and professional. We should only focus on our jobs and leave politics to the politicians,” Brawner told reporters yesterday.

Brawner said members of the Marine Security and Escort Group (MSEG) were present in the building upon the request of the Office of the Sergeant-At-Arms (OSAA).

“They’re deployed there, the MSEG, because we have a security detachment at the Senate” and other government establishments like Congress and the Department of Foreign Affairs, he said. “It’s their job to secure the facility.”

“It’s not the security of individual senators, no. They’re there to secure the facility,” Brawner said.

The arrangement, he maintained, is modeled after the system in the United States where US Marines are tasked to secure the Senate and Congress.

Brawner dismissed speculations that the Senate incident may be part of a destabilization plot as the AFP is not even raising its alert status.

“The AFP is very professional. What happened Wednesday night did not make us worry that it might spark something that would destabilize the military, no,” he said when asked if he can guarantee that no soldier is involved in destabilization attempts.

He said he was monitoring the situation as it unfolded together with Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. who was in communication with President Marcos.

In an official statement, the AFP said it “maintains an institutional security detail at vital government installations, facilities, and landmarks.”

“The military personnel seen inside the Senate building are Marine Security and Escort Group (MSEG) personnel detailed at the said institution for perimeter security. The soldiers seen inside the building were called by the OSAA to assist them in securing the facility.”

The Philippine National Police, however, is on full alert in response to the latest incident at the Senate, PNP chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said.-  Emmanuel Tupas, Rainier Allan Ronda, Andrew Ronquillo