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AFP condemns accusation against member of the army for false Facebook accounts
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) have condemned the accusation against one of its members for several false accounts recently closed by Facebook.
The United States-based Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research (DFR) identified Philippine Army Captain Alexandre Cabales as the operator of the social media pages that Facebook removed for engaging in “coordinated inauthentic behavior” targeting national audiences In Philippines.
AFP’s spokesman, Major General Edgar Arévalo, said Facebook and said digital forensic group should review their privacy policies carefully, as identifying Cabales violated their privacy. Arevalo said this has put Cabales’ reputation and safety at risk.
“This is a violation of your personal identity and personal safety, due to the disclosure of your name and you are not given the opportunity to explain your version, (because they released their name and [Cabales] he wasn’t able to explain his side) “ he said.
The AFP also defended Cabales, explaining that the information published in official accounts linked to the Philippine Army is legitimate and authentic.
Cabales runs AFP’s social media center and is reportedly connected to the ‘Hands Off Our Children’ page that has been taken down by Facebook.
“During its takedown, the communist terror group recruited a large and seemingly favored recruit, (Removing these pages will greatly enhance the recruitment of the communist terrorist group) ”, Arevalo said.
Facebook removed more than 100 accounts and pages on its social networks due to violation of its policy. These include 31 pages and 77 Facebook and Instagram accounts allegedly linked to people affiliated with the Philippine military.
“They posted in Filipino and English on local news and events, including national politics, military counter-terrorism activities, the pending anti-terrorism bill, criticism of communism, youth activists and the opposition, the Communist Party of the Philippines and its military wing, the New Town. Philippine National Democratic Front and Army […] our investigation found links to the Philippine military and the Philippine police, ”Facebook said in a statement. CAA (with reports from Joan Nano)
Facebook removes fake accounts allegedly linked to military and police PH
Facebook has removed more than hundreds of fake accounts for engaging in “coordinated inauthentic behavior.”
In a statement, the social media giant said it removed 155 accounts; 11 pages; 9 groups and 6 Instagram accounts. These networks reportedly originated in China. He also removed 57 Facebook accounts; 31 pages and 20 Instagram accounts where their networks originated in the Philippines and targeted national audiences.
Nathaniel Gleicher, Facebook’s head of security policy, said that these accounts and pages posted about local news and events, including national politics, military counter-terrorism activities, pending anti-terrorism bill, criticism of communism, youth activists and opposition, the Communist Party of the Philippines. (CPP) and its military wing, the New People’s Army (NPA) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP).
“Although the people behind this activity tried to hide their identities, our investigation found links to the Philippine army and police,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Armed Forces of the Philippines on Wednesday (September 23) clarified that none of their maintained accounts were closed, but they are still investigating the Facebook report.
“There are no accounts maintained by AFP that were closed or eliminated by Facebook. All of them are in operation. The AFP defends the veracity and responsibility of the network account administrators and SocMed regarding the content of the publications on our websites, pages and accounts ”, reads its statement. CAA
3 soldiers injured in new confrontation between Sulu and ASG
Three soldiers were injured in another clash with members of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) in Sulu province, a military official said.
Lt. Col. Alaric Delos Santos, spokesman for the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom), said elements of the 45th The infantry battalion encountered around 20 ASG members at Sitio Bud Kaha, Barangay Bungkaung in Sulu’s Patikul city on Sunday afternoon.
The shooting lasted about 45 minutes and left three soldiers wounded, while casualties on the enemy’s side have yet to be determined, Delos Santos said.
Military troops are now pursuing the group of bandits who withdrew after the shooting.
“We keep our military operations focused on destroying enemy fortresses and thwarting the terrorist plots of the local terrorist group,” said AFP Westmincom commander Lt. Gen. Corleto Vinluan Jr.
“We call on our prayer warriors to continually pray for the safety and security of our soldiers,” he added. – RRD (with details from the correspondent Val Villaflor)
5 Abu Sayyaf bandits killed and 2 soldiers wounded in the Zamboanga Sibugay clash
Manila, Philippines – Five suspected members of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) were killed and two soldiers were injured in a meeting between government troops and the terrorist group in Zamboanga Sibugay on Wednesday (September 9).
Lieutenant Colonel Don Templonuevo, commander of the 44th Infantry Batallion said the crash occurred during joint military and police manhunt operations in Barangay Pres. Roxas, RT Lim in Zamboanga Sibugay around 2 am
Templonuevo said that the meeting was the result of its persecution operations against armed elements of Abral Abdusalam and the Sahibad group led by Furuji Indama, a Basilan-based ASG leader.
The clash follows an earlier shooting between the army and the local terrorist group in Barangay La Paz, Alicia in Zamboanga Sibugay on September 6, it added.
The army said government troops were also able to recover four high-powered firearms after the 30-minute standoff against the 10 members of the Abu Sayyaf Group.
The persecution operation against the ASG is still ongoing.
Brig. General Leonel Nicolás, commander of the 102nd Infantry Brigade, said the group allegedly planned to carry out kidnapping activities in the region based on information they received from a reliable source.
“The unit would also like to thank the locals who alerted the authorities to the presence of these terrorist groups, which resulted in the timely response of our troops,” said Nicolás.
Meanwhile, the two wounded soldiers, whose identities have not yet been revealed, were airlifted to Camp Navarro General Hospital, Zamboanga city, to receive proper medical attention.
Both soldiers are now in stable condition, the army reported.
