Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. has called on military personnel not to meddle amid an open letter about their concerns over the 2025 national budget sent to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr by retired and concerned members of the AFP, the Philippine National Police (PNP) and other groups on Friday.

"The Armed Forces of the Philippines should not meddle and our people, our soldiers and our staff, should not be affected." Brawner said.

Brawner told reporters in an interview during the AFP's 89th anniversary that the military will continue to be professional and won't be involved with the open letter addressing the budget.

"It should not be a source of discontent or even concern meaning of course we are concerned about the budget but we trust the system that is what is important", Brawner said.

Marcos said he deferred signing the proposed 2025 General Appropriations Act on Friday because he wanted a through review of the bill ratified by both Houses of Congress.

He said on Thursday that he wanted a line-by-line review and use veto powers if needed as he noted that the bill appeared to be different from the one the executive branch sent to Congress. He said he hoped the 2025 budget would be signed before the year ends.

Brawner said that the President did not talk about the budget of the AFP but gave his guidance for the AFP to look into strengthening cyber security as it is becoming a bigger threat to the country.

Brawner said the AFP Command Conference on Friday afternoon was "very professional" stating that there were no loyalty checks nor political talks.

He said they presented the accomplishments of AFP for the past several years, comparing the peak of the New People's Army (NPA) at 25,000 fighters in the late 80s to the present 1,000.

The AFP also presented their new campaign named "Tatag Kapuluan" that will encompass all operations needed to protect the people and the state. Marie Manalili/DMS