Uniform justice? Why the Philippine military expelled a lawmaker but not VP Sara Duterte

The Philippine military has opted to keep Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio in charge of an army reserve command despite her incendiary public remarks, even as it recently expelled a pro-Duterte lawmaker from the reserve force for politicised conduct. Military officers and defence observers said the contrasting treatment underscores how power, political risk and legal grey zones shape how the Armed Forces of the Philippines disciplines its reservists, as the rift between the president and his vice-president widens ahead of the 2028 race. The disparity has drawn scrutiny because Duterte-Carpio – the daughter of former president Rodrigo Duterte and President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr’s biggest political rival – made highly controversial remarks in a November 2024 live-streamed press briefing in which she said she had spoken to a contract killer and that, if she were killed, he should target Marcos, his wife and the House speaker. She also sharply criticised the armed forces chief for alleged corruption, comments that some civil society groups said should have disqualified her from remaining in the reserve force. By contrast, the military summarily removed Congressman Francisco Barzaga from the Army Reserve in October after he posted a photograph of himself in uniform while promoting calls for the secession of Mindanao and accusing military generals of massive corruption. A defence and security expert said the difference in treatment was stark. “The bottom line is, the military is afraid of Sara,” the expert told This Week in Asia on condition of anonymity. “She might become president [in 2028] and she’s the type to exact payback.” A tale of two reservists On September 21, Barzaga posted a photograph of himself on Facebook wearing his military uniform, with the hashtag #FreeMindanao. The post echoed calls by several retired military officers and civilian supporters of former president Rodrigo Duterte for the southern Philippine island of Mindanao to secede and form a separate “Republic of Mindanao”. Weeks later, Lieutenant Colonel Louie Dema-ala, chief of the Army Public Affairs Office, announced Barzaga’s removal from the Army Reserve, where he held the rank of private. “As per investigation, he had committed the offensive action on September 21 by posting his picture in military uniform while insinuating seditious statements,” Dema-ala said. Barzaga claimed on Facebook that the move was retaliation for his alleged uncovering of 15 billion pesos worth of “ghost projects” involving unnamed military officials, an accusation the armed forces dismissed as “false”, saying the funds were handled by the Department of Public Works and Highways. Dema-ala said Barzaga’s case had prompted the military to review and validate the status of its reservists, who number close to a million. “We are assessing each one whether they are still qualified to perform their being a reservist,” he said, including whether they continue to meet required standards of conduct. The Articles of War under Commonwealth Act No 408 allow the dismissal or court martial of military personnel who use contemptuous or disrespectful words against the president and other top civilian leaders, though their applicability to reservists depends on duty status. Dema-ala told This Week in Asia during a military briefing and in subsequent interviews that Barzaga’s case was markedly different from that Duterte-Carpio. “In the case of Congressman Barzaga,” he said, the lawmaker was removed “because he had used his (army reserve) uniform in the usurpation of authority and in misrepresenting the Philippine Army in his statements publicly”. He described Barzaga’s conduct as “a clear violation”. Dema-ala said Duterte-Carpio was exempted from the validation process and was not under investigation. “VP Sara is not undergoing validation or any investigation. She has no violation,” he said, referring to her status as an Army reserve colonel. He added that reservists are generally considered to be on inactive duty and therefore not automatically subject to the same disciplinary rules as active personnel. The defence expert said that as far as the military was concerned, the vice-president had made her remarks “as a politician”, not as a reserve commander. Calls by civil society groups to remove Duterte-Carpio from the army reserve over her comments about hiring an assassin fell outside the military’s remit, the expert said. “That falls under law enforcement concern which lies with the Philippine National Police, not the army,” the expert said, adding that Barzaga’s case could also be viewed as a law enforcement matter. Separately, a senior military officer told This Week in Asia that Duterte-Carpio holds a key post in the Army Reserve Command as commander of the 1101st Ready Reserve Infantry Brigade under the 11th Regional Community Defence Group, based in Davao City. The officer, who also asked for anonymity, said Duterte-Carpio had criticised the president and the armed forces chief “as a political leader and not as a military officer”, giving her the right to free expression “as long as it is not seditious like asking for the withdrawal of support of active military personnel”. “Congressman Barzaga posted, while in uniform, for withdrawal of support of active military against the president. For the military to go against the chain of command. VP Sara, as far as I know, has not done that.” Power, politics and precedent Duterte-Carpio’s political weight looms large over the issue. Opinion polls currently place her as the front runner in the 2028 presidential race, giving her statements far greater political impact than those of Barzaga, a 27-year-old first-term legislator. She also remains entangled in controversy over her use of confidential funds, allegations that led to her impeachment by the House of Representatives early last year. Her allies in the Senate later blocked the impeachment trial, and the Supreme Court subsequently ruled that the House impeachment process was procedurally flawed and therefore void. The dispute further deepened the rupture between Duterte-Carpio and Marcos, who had run as a landslide-winning ticket in 2022 but fell out in mid-2024. During her November press briefing, Duterte-Carpio also accused unnamed officials of massive corruption and questioned how the armed forces chief could “sleep so soundly night after night” while billions of pesos allegedly went missing. At the time, armed forces chief Romeo Brawner Jnr declined to respond directly, instead urging calm and stressing the military’s non-partisan role. “We reiterate our need to stand together against those who will try to break our bonds as Filipinos,” he said, adding that the armed forces would continue to respect civilian authority. Brawner also denied withdrawing Duterte-Carpio’s military security detail and said it remained in place. China, neutrality and 2028 Some civil society groups have also questioned whether Duterte-Carpio’s public positions on disputes in the South China Sea are compatible with her continued role as a reserve officer. Critics have pointed to her perceived silence on tensions with China in contested waters, though Duterte-Carpio has said decisions on foreign policy rest with the president. She told a congressional probe last August that she supported the 2016 arbitral ruling invalidating China’s sweeping claims in the South China Sea. “As Filipinos, we are all in agreement that our claim is firmly anchored on Unclos and the 2016 Arbitral Award,” she said, while calling for a “comprehensive approach” that considered regional stability. Duterte-Carpio has also argued that political disputes should not be projected onto the military. “As a reserve officer of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, I sincerely appreciate the sacrifices made by our uniformed personnel,” she said. “However, it is crucial to avoid politicising their sacrifices for media sound bites or social media commentary.” The senior military officer said the armed forces would have no difficulty serving under Duterte-Carpio should she win the presidency in 2028, underscoring the institution’s insistence on non-partisanship. “But if she does maintain a partisan side with China,” the officer added, “then that’s a different story.”

Uniform justice? Why the Philippine military expelled a lawmaker but not VP Sara Duterte

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Sources said legal ambiguity and political risk shaped how the armed forces handled two high-profile reservist cases

Sources said legal ambiguity and political risk shaped how the armed forces handled two high-profile reservist cases