MANILA — The military's top commander urged soldiers in the southern Philippines not to entertain invitations to join destabilization efforts against the government.

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Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. revealed that there is a group of retired military officers trying to convince military troops to overthrow the Marcos administration.

Brawner said active members of the AFP should not pay attention to the group but instead focus their efforts in the fulfillment of the AFP's transformation roadmap.

"We are in a democracy, but please do not involve the active personnel of the AFP," he said.

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Meanwhile, Brawner issued an order to the new AFP Inspector General Maj. Gen. Steve Crespillo to monitor foreign posts such as in Indonesia, Hawaii, New York and others deemed as critical posts to find out if the AFP needs to improve its systems and organizations.

Another disclosure Brawner made during the change of command program is the "infiltration that is happening in the country, including Zamboanga City and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM)."

Brawner refused to provide details to the media.

"Ang sinasabi natin ay dapat bantayan natin, meaning yung mga government and education institutions, business sector, communication, dahil if you are infiltrated, they could monitor our activities, and they could counter our plans," Brawner said.

The military general advised soldiers to be "very careful in posting on their personal social media accounts, to avoid disclosing too much information to the public." - report from Queenie Casimiro