'Cyberwoman' Francel Padilla is new AFP spox

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has appointed a female officer adept in cyber security as its new spokesperson, offering a sneak peek at what the organization is trying to focus on in the coming years.

Before a crowd of reporters at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City, Col. Francel Margareth A. Padilla was introduced by AFP Chief, Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. as the first female spokesperson of the military at the sidelines of the AFP 2024 Command Conference on Monday, Jan. 15.

Brawner tagged Padilla as a "cyberwoman" because her area of specialization revolves around cybersecurity and technology.

Padilla replaced Col. Medel Aguilar, who became the voice of the military for one year and six months.

"We’ll still continue with whatever it is that we are actually doing in terms of informing the public appropriately in terms of the thrusts of the AFP," Padilla said.

"In terms of cybersecurity, it is good because it’s sort of a buzz word at this point. It’s really very heavy on technology and my background in cybersecurity would greatly help also in the new, out of the box things that we’re gonna be doing moving forward in terms of the guidance of the President," she added, referring to the directive given by Pres. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to the military reconfigure its approach to various internal and external threats faced by the country.

According to Padilla, the AFP faces around 1,000 hacking attempts per day.

"But we're trying to resolve whatever it is being reported to us. It is detection and prevention for us," she noted.