The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is calling on retired military and uniformed personnel (MUP) to protect their ranks from individuals or groups who wish to discredit the armed forces.

Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad, Navy spokesman for the West Philippine Sea, revealed that there was a recent attempt to agitate and mobilize the retired MUP's.

"The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) uses disinformation or malign influence to advance their illegal claims in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), such as the 9-dash line, the China Coast Guard (CCG) Law, a nature reserve declaration and many more," he said.

"In the domestic scene, the same tool is used by persons or groups who wish to discredit the AFP and to erode social cohesion. Recently, there was an attempt to agitate some of our MUP retirees, organize them and eventually mobilize them," he added.

Trinidad also calls all the Filipinos, not just the MUPs "to be cautious so as not to fall victim to disinformation whether in the maritime domain or in the internal setting." Robina Asido/DMS