A two-star general said late Thursday he was taking a leave of absence, taking responsibility for an erroneous list of supposed communist guerrillas that earlier cost another two-star general his job.
Maj. Gen. Benedict Arevalo went on leave as Deputy Chief of Staff for Civil-Military operations a few days after he issued a public apology over the list that was published, then taken down on Facebook. On Thursday, Maj. Gen. Alex Luna was fired as Deputy Chief of Staff for intelligence.
The list named UP Alumni, including some who were either dead or working as journalists, as having joined the New People's Army. It was released as the military argued its case that UP had become a safe haven for enemies of the state.
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Arevalo said the mistake was commited by his staff. "I personally take responsibility of their actions. This is the reason why I issued a public apology and reiterated it in my succeeding interviews."
"The procedure my staff did to post in FB, was confined in my office. In the light of this developments, I will go on leave of absence so as not to influence the ongoing investigation," he said.
