Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 11) — Senators will work double time to amend the law that set a fixed three-year term for ranking officials of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in the hopes of appeasing grumblings in the military.
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Senate President Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri on Wednesday said there is a technical working group studying possible changes. If it were up to him, he said only the AFP chief of staff should be covered by the law.
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“Napakaraming colonels and even the low-ranking generals they cannot anymore resume the position, walang promotion. Titigil ang promotion. Kaya definitely magkakaroon ng problema so we are now hell-bent on amending the law,” he said in a Kapihan sa Manila Bay media forum.
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[Translation: There are too many colonels and the low-ranking generals who cannot resume the position anymore because there is no promotion, so there will definitely be a problem, so we’re now hell-bent on amending the law.]
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He wants the amendments passed within the first quarter of the year, saying it can help bring back stability among troops.
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Lt. Gen. Bartolome Bacarro was supposed to be the first AFP chief to be covered by the fixed term law signed by former President Rodrigo Duterte in April 2022. But in a surprise move, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. reappointed Gen. Andres Centino, sparking talks of unrest.
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Ending the “revolving door” policy in which military chiefs serve for only a few months before their mandatory retirement, Republic Act 11709 states that the following will have a fixed tour of duty of three years: Chief of Staff, Vice Chief of Staff, Deputy Chief of Staff, Commanding General of the Army, Commanding General of the Air Force, Flag Officer in Command of the Navy, Unified Command Commanders and Inspector General.
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Meanwhile, Zubiri said Centino — who previously served as AFP chief from November 2021 to August 2022 before being succeeded by Bacarro — is expected to breeze through the Commission on Appointments.
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