No soldier ‘sleeping with the enemy,’ AFP says

No soldier has a romantic relationship with an enemy of the state, the Armed Forces of the Philippines said on Tuesday.

AFP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla Jr. made the statement after a police officer, Superintendent Maria Cristina Nobleza, was arrested on Saturday in Bohol.

Nobleza was with her alleged boyfriend, suspected Abu Sayyaf member and bomb expert Reenor Lou Dungon alias Kudre, his mother Judith Dungon, and a teenager. 

Padilla said that the AFP has been conducting counterintelligence efforts within the organization. round the clock.

“So sa aming nagiging effort na ito, tulad ng nabanggit ko, wala naman tayong nakikita pa. So kung meron man tayong na-identify na maaaring pagmulan ng mga posibleng maaaring tumulong sa kalaban, lagi po itong ina-address immediately at the highest priority,” he said in a briefing in Malacañang.

Padilla said that Nobleza's links to the bandits would be an "exception to the rule".

"On our part sa Armed Forces, tulad nga ng sabi ko, may dedicated effort para siguraduhin na itong mga ganitong pangyayari ay hindi po mangyayari," he said.

The official also gave a glimpse of how the military handles captives.

"Ang ating procedure sa Armed Forces, pag ka mga ganito, hindi lang ang nag-iisa ang nagsasagawa ng interogasyon o ang pagtatanong, may kasama siyang team, kabahagi ng team na ‘to, may nagdo-document, may nagre-record," he said.

"So kampante kami na ‘yung ating sinusunod na mga procedures, lalo na sa intelligence organizations natin ay sapat. Pero kung meron man siguro kailangan pang suriin at pag-aralan dahil hindi pa natin ganap na alam kung ano talaga ‘yung breadth and extent ng ugnayan at partisipasyon ni Police Superintendent Nobleza sa mga bagay na ‘to," he added.

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Dir. Gen. Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa said that Nobleza and Dungon's love story began while the officer was interrogating the alleged Abu Sayyaf member in 2013 for a double murder case. —NB, GMA News