Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) commander General Romeo Brawner Jr retires on July 21 after more than four decades as the reactionary state’s obedient fascist enforcer. He will be remembered upon his exit as a war criminal, a military bureaucrat-capitalist, and loyal fascist attack dog of US imperialism.

Brawner’s record against the Filipino people runs long. He will forever be hounded by people he owes blood debts, and pursued by people’s justice.

US mercenary

Brawner has been a lifelong zealous follower of US dictates. As AFP chief, he crafted the Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept purportedly to enable “peaceful” exploration of the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone. In truth, it was taken from the US military’s “Archipelagic Defense Strategy,” aimed at containing China in the Western Pacific, particularly the so‑called “first island chain.”

He shamelessly begged for weapons and military aid for the “development” of national defense. He led weapons purchases for the AFP “modernization,” including ATMOS 2000 howitzers, Sabrah light tanks, the Typhon missile system, and various drones, along with other war matériel shouldered by the people.

As a submissive dog of the US, he escalated tensions between the Philippines and China through anti‑China statements. In 2025 he urged the AFP to “prepare” for a possible Chinese invasion of Taiwan and to assume that the country was already “at war.” He justified this by saying the AFP must “rescue” 250,000 Filipinos working in Taiwan should such an event occur.

Brawner took advantage of the conflicts between Ferdinand Marcos Jr and the Duterte camp to demand a higher AFP budget, insisting soldiers’ pay was “insufficient.” The food allowance subsequently rose from ₱150 to ₱350, and base pay for soldiers and other uniformed personnel was increased by 15% for 2026–2028.

Blood‑stained hands

Brawner’s record is drenched in blood. Thousands of peasants, indigenous people, and Moro were killed, lost their livelihoods, and were driven from their lands because of military operations he led in the Visayas and Mindanao—operations carried out in the interests of mining companies, comprador bourgeoisie, and foreign corporations.

Brawner is a war criminal for his responsibility in the killing of former NPA spokesperson Jorge Madlos (Ka Oris). Madlos was captured alive on October 30, 2021 in Impasug‑ong, Bukidnon, and willfully killed on Brawner’s orders as 4th ID commander. Brawner ordered the immediate cremation of the bodies of Madlos and his companion to hide evidence of torture.

The following year, Pedro Codaste (Ka Gonyong) and Ka Sandro in January 2022, and Vincent Isagani Madlos (Ka Yuno) and Glorivic Belandres (Ka Layka) in September 2022 were all captured alive, tortured, deliberately killed and declared as combat deaths. Ka Yuno was Ka Oris’s son.

He also ordered relentless aerial bombings in Bukidnon, Misamis Oriental, and the provinces of Surigao and Agusan that sowed terror among peasants and other marginalized communities.

History of fascism

Brawner came from a military and government‑worker family in Baguio City. He graduated from the Philippine Military Academy as 1989 “Makatao” Class member and ranked second in his class. He is also an alumnus of the US Army War College, an institution run by the US Department of Defense to train senior military officers.

He held various Philippine Army posts from platoon leader up to division command in Nueva Ecija, Samar, Leyte, Bohol, Cebu, Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Surigao del Sur, and Davao.

He became Task Force Ranao deputy commander in 2017 and later Task Force Marawi spokesperson. He commanded the 103rd Infantry Brigade in 2018 and oversaw the “rehabilitation” of Marawi. He was appointed 4th ID commander in 2021, and AFP Chief of Staff in 2023.