Lorenzana orders relief of AFP intel chief over 'erroneous list' of NPAs

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana has ordered the relief of Armed Forces Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence Major General Alex Luna after an "erroneous list" of alleged members of the New People's Army killed by the state forces was published.

In a press statement Thursday, Lorenzana said the list originated from Luna's office, and described its  publication as "an unforgivable lapse."

"His negligence only shows a lackadaisical attitude towards his job resulting to confusion and damage to reputation. We do not take these offenses lightly and I want to hold the people involved accountable," Lorenzana said.

According to Lorenzana, Luna's relief from post is effective Thursday, January 28.

Luna assumed the post as the military's intelligence chief in October 2020. He served as the commander of the Joint Task Force – NCR, which played a role in the government's COVID-19 efforts.

Lorenzana told reporters that an investigation is still ongoing, however, he decided to relieve Luna because of the principle of command responsibility. He said Luna would not be court-martialed for this.

"A commander is responsible for whatever his unit does or fails to do. Alam nila lahat ito," Lorenzana said. "That language is needed to jolt the whole organization into taking their jobs seriously."

Lorenzana said Luna would be placed under the office of AFP chief General Gilbert Gapay.

The AFP Information Exchange earlier published a list of students from the University of the Philippines who were allegedly recruited by the communist groups and were killed during armed encounters with the military.

The list has since been deleted.

The AFP's Civil-Military Operations Office had apologized for the "inconsistencies" in that list of students who allegedly joined the rebel group.

According to Major General Benedict Arevalo, deputy chief of staff for Civil Military Operations, some personnel were admonished over the wrongful publication of the list.

The controversial list came out after the DND's unilateral abrogation of its 31-year-old deal with the University of the Philippines (UP) on the prohibition on the entry of state forces in campuses.

The DND claimed that UP campuses have become breeding grounds for communists. UP officials have since denied such claims and have asked the Defense Department to reconsider its decision. — KBK/RSJ/AOL, GMA News