Instead of a fixed term of three years, the Department of National Defense has recommended an “extended tenure of service” for key officials of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
Defense Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. on Monday said the DND put forward its proposal to the Senate, which is eyeing to amend Republic Act 11709 or the Act Strengthening Professionalism in the AFP.
“We are very thankful that the Senate, headed by our Senate President [Miguel Zubiri], made a statement that they will support our recommendation, which we will already remove the term ‘fixed term.’ Instead we will use the term ‘extended tenure of service,’” Galvez said.
Under the DND recommendation, key military officers would have a “flexible” term that can be extended by the President even if the official has already reached the mandatory retirement age.
These key AFP officers can also be replaced at any time if they no longer enjoy the trust and confidence of the President “without the restrictions of the law.”
“So, there is no such thing as fixed term already. If our recommendation is adopted, at least the career management of our key officers would not be absolute but flexible,” Galvez said.
“We see that the flexibility would be good,” he added.
Zubiri on Sunday said the bill limiting the coverage of the fixed three-year term in the AFP will receive “strong support” from senators.
Galvez earlier admitted “rumblings” within the military due to Republic Act 11709, which grants a three-year fixed term for the AFP Chief of Staff and other key officials.
The Defense chief revealed the unrest among some AFP members as they have not been promoted, especially officers who belong to the Philippine Military Academy Classes of 1990 and 1994.
The “unintended consequences” of the retirement law affected 14 key positions, Galvez said, and not resolving it “will greatly affect the dynamism of the organization.”
He noted that some officers “were very much qualified” to be promoted, but due to their age, they were deprived of a higher rank and retired.
The President recently defended his decision to reappoint Gen. Andres Centino as AFP chief of staff, saying he had to “rationalize” the senior military leadership to prevent “chaos” in the lower ranks.
Mr. Marcos said he had to address the unusual situation where Centino still had the four stars even as Lt. Gen. Bartolome Bacarro, with only three stars, was AFP chief of staff.