00:00 Let's talk about the update from your agency, the National Security Council.
00:05 The NSA Secretary Eduardo Año issued a statement in a misquote to AFP Chief of Staff Romeo Bronner Jr.
00:16 What is the detail here, ADG?
00:18 Well, Chief of Staff Bronner Jr. was quoted as having a dehumanization plot against the Marcos administration.
00:33 And the Secretary Año made it clear that Chief of Staff Bronner Jr. was taking his statement out of context.
00:43 And it was clear based on our monitoring in the security sector, in the police, in the Armed Forces of the Philippines,
00:53 that there is no such destabilization plot.
00:56 Because it's different when people hear the word "plot."
01:01 It means that there are armed people, there are people talking.
01:06 And we made it clear, Secretary Año made it clear to the people in his statement that these people who are talking are mostly the retired.
01:16 They are the retired and the former military officers.
01:20 And it's just a conversation.
01:21 There are no active AFP personnel here.
01:26 You know, there are always different opinions about how government is run.
01:32 And that's what we monitored.
01:36 But insofar as a destabilization plot is concerned, there is no such thing.
01:40 And the Armed Forces is loyal to the administration.
01:44 And if there is such a destabilization plot, the National Security Council will ensure that it will not succeed.
01:53 Okay.
01:54 ADG John, this is for you.
01:57 This is about you.
01:58 For me too.
01:59 For you again.
02:00 Yes, every Monday, it's like that.
02:02 Even if we all came from long vacations, you, the others, we're just here.
02:08 ADG John, this is for you.
02:12 That there is no such thing as a witch hunt against independent public intellectuals, citizens, journalists, and peace advocates.
02:20 What can you say about this, ADG John?
02:24 Yes, there is a common fight against me, personally, that I am doing a witch hunt here in groups that are pro-China.
02:34 I just want to clarify that we at NSC do not stop people from expressing their feelings.
02:41 We just promote freedom of expression, freedom of the press.
02:45 What we do at NSC is we point out those who spread fake news.
02:51 For example, the so-called "Bangami" conspiracy that happened in the Union Shoal.
02:59 "Bangami Binanga Tayo" (Bangami is a name of a group of people who are conspiring against the United Nations)
03:02 Is that right?
03:03 No.
03:04 Because there are "Banga Banga" that are happening.
03:06 We heard about that.
03:07 We did that.
03:08 We are the ones who are conspiring.
03:10 That's right.
03:11 And they spread the video from the Chinese Embassy that we, the first one in May, are the ones who are conspiring against the Coast Guard vessel.
03:19 So, in our opinion, it's like a tricycle or a motorcycle that is harassing a ten-wheeler and has no truth.
03:26 So, what we do at NSC is we let the people know the truth.
03:32 That's all.
03:33 And what I said to Nina is we are just monitoring them.
03:37 And that's what the National Security Council mandated, to monitor people who may be following the narrative and agenda of a foreign power.
03:48 Now, can you advise us, ADG John, how do we know if this is a freedom of speech or they are being paid by China?
04:04 Okay.
04:05 Well, that's a good question.
04:06 And I never said that they are being paid by China.
04:09 Okay.
04:10 Because it's like they are panicking.
04:11 Let's clarify that.
04:12 They are panicking that we have a list.
04:17 Because there is a list of people who are being monitored by the National Security Council.
04:25 We don't have a list.
04:26 Yes.
04:27 And that list is just made up by people to support their narrative that we are witch hunting the National Security Council.
04:39 I just clarified that there is no list.
04:43 There is no witch hunt that the National Security Council is doing.
04:46 What we are doing is we are monitoring.
04:48 We are monitoring because it is important that the information that reaches our fellow countrymen is the truth.
04:56 And like what I said in our program last week and the week before,
05:01 if there are people who don't believe in what the Coast Guard and the Philippine Navy are saying,
05:07 every time we have an activity in Union Shoal or we have an activity here in Bajo de Macindo,
05:14 if they don't believe in it, there is the independent media, there is the GMA, there is the ABS-CBN, there is the TV5.
05:23 We are letting Coast Guard ships to be the witnesses of our fellow countrymen so that we can see what is really happening.
05:34 And we can see that in the news, ADG John.
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