AFP apologizes over personnel nabbed in UP campus

The Armed Forces of the Philippines apologized for the incident last week where AFP personnel were nabbed in the Univeristy of Philippines' Diliman campus for supposedly conducting operations there.

 

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the AFP admitted there was an operation and apologized for the incident which could be a violation of a longstanding agreement between the school and the Department of Defense.

 

“The AFP acknowledges that there were AFP personnel inside the premises of the University of the Philippines recently,” it read.

 

“The AFP humbly apologizes for the incident and assures the public and the UP that any inconvenience that arose out of this incident is not intentional. We will work to ensure that this does not happen again,” it added.

 

The AFP also gave the assurance that their personnel were conducting a “legitimate national security operation” on UP campus grounds.

 

“It was a transparent operation that was properly coordinated with the local police. Likewise, there was no intent to violate the existing 1989 agreement between the DND and UP,” it read.

 

Aside from this, the AFP denied their personnel were conducting operations against any members of the UP body. 

 

“University students and members of the UP faculty were not the subject of that operation as alleged by some quarters,” it read.

 

“Our security operations are all done in the best interest of our people and that these are pursued so as to prevent crimes and terroristic acts against our citizens,” it added.

 

Members of UP Diliman's Special Services Brigade last Wednesday apprehended six men acting suspiciously near the College of Education who introduced themselves as members of the AFP.

 

They were then turned over to the police. —Andrei Medina/KG, GMA News