Iligan City (MindaNews/9 July 2026)– General Romeo Brawner Jr., now at the tail end of a fixed three-year term as Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), reminded soldiers Thursday, 9 July 2026, to continue standing up to the bullying of China at the West Philippine Sea and to “continue working as professional soldiers.”
Brawner made the remarks Thursday morning before soldiers of the 103rd Infantry Brigade at Kampo Ranao, Marawi City, whom he visited as part of a farewell tour before his retirement on July 20.
Brawner took over as AFP chief of staff on 21 July 2023 and will be the first AFP chief of staff to serve the whole three-year term following the adoption of Republic Act No. 11939.
In his speech, Brawner reminded the soldiers of the landmark 2016 South China Sea Arbitration ruling issued by the Permanent Court of Arbitration at the Hague on 12 July 2016, which invalidated China’s claims at the West Philippine Sea.
“Yung China binu-bully tayo sa West Philippine Sea. Gusto nilang angkinin ang Bajo de Masinloc o Scarborough Shoal and other features sa South China Sea at ayaw nating papayag (China is bullying us at the West Philippine Sea. They are claiming Bajo de Masinloc or Scarborough Shoal and other features of the South China Sea and we won’t let them),” he said.
“Mga kasamahan marami pa tayong gawin at mag focus lang tayo sa ating trabaho. (We still have many things to do and we should focus on our work),” he said.
Years earlier, Brawner served as the public face and spokesperson of the military task force fighting to recapture Marawi City after it was seized by Dawlah Islamiyah militants in 2017.
Later, as commander of the Army’s 103rd Infantry Brigade, Brawner led the operations that culminated in the death of Owayda Benito Marohombsar—the suspected emir of the Islamic State in Southeast Asia—during an encounter in Lanao del Sur on March 14, 2019.
Brawner also served as commanding general of the Army’s 4th Infantry Division (4ID) based in Cagayan de Oro City. He headed the 4ID when Jorge “Ka Oris” Madlos, the longtime spokesperson of the National Democratic Front in Mindanao, was killed in an operation in Bukidnon on October 30, 2021. (Richelieu Umel and Froilan Gallardo/MindaNews)
