January 29, 2021
THE head of civil-military operations of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has gone on leave to pave the way for an investigation into the publication of an erroneous list of University of the Philippines (UP) students and alumni who were killed or captured during operations against the New People’s Army (NPA).
Major General Benedict Arevalo, deputy chief of staff for civil-military operations (J7), said he was taking responsibility for the actions of his staff.
“I would like to reiterate that indeed the erroneous list was a mistake committed by J7 staff, and as the chief of Office for Civil Military Operations, J7, I personally take responsibility for their actions. This is the reason why I issued a public apology and reiterated it in my succeeding interviews,” he said.