UP lauds Lorenzana's move to sack military intel chief from post

The University of the Philippines on Friday expressed appreciation  to Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana's move to remove Armed Forces Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence Major General Alex Luna from his post due to an erroneous list of suspected communist rebels killed by the military.

"We in the University of the Philippines express our appreciation for Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana’s decisive action in relieving Major General Alex Luna of his position as Armed Forces Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence following the publication of a list of alleged members of the New People’s Army (NPA) killed by state forces—an erroneous list that included members of the UP community who were neither members of the NPA nor slain by state forces," UP said in a statement.

UP said Lorenzana's action displayed professionalism and willingness to take responsibility over mistakes made, wherein some could be life-threatening such as the erroneous list.

"As UP stands for honor and excellence, we recognize and salute honor wherever it is manifested," the university said.

Lorenzana said the list, which was posted on Facebook but has since been deleted, came from Luna's office. He said the publication of the list was an unforgivable lapse.

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

The AFP's Civil-Military Operations Office had apologized for the "inconsistencies" in the list.

Major General Benedict Arevalo, the AFP's deputy chief of staff for civil military operations, took a leave of absence after Luna was relieved from his position.

Lorenzana and the UP community locked horns recently after the Defense chief unilaterally terminated a decades-old accord regarding the presence and movement of state forces in the university's campuses. 

In terminating the deal, Lorenzana said UP has become a haven for enemies of the state -- an accusation denied by UP officials.  —Anna Felicia Bajo/KBK, GMA News