By ANNA FELICIA BAJO, GMA News Published February 4, 2021 8:51am Updated February 4, 2021 9:23am The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Thursday denied that it is the practice of the military to torture civilians, insisting that troops respect human rights in accordance to their mandate. "The act that our soldiers are accused of is a serious allegation that is neither a policy nor a practice. As a matter of fact, AFP regulations mandate that we respect human rights and abide by the law of armed conflict," AFP spokesman Major General Edgard Arevalo said in a message to GMA News Online. Deinla had said two Aetas were supposedly tortured by government forces as a form of reprisal for the death of a soldier during an encounter with rebels in Zambales in August 2020.