President Rodrigo Duterte has picked Eastern Mindanao Command chief Felimon Santos as the next head of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, replacing General Noel Clement.
An appointment letter from Malacañang dated Jan. 2 showed that Santos, a veteran intelligence officer and chief of the Eastern Mindanao Command based in Davao, was named AFP chief effective Sunday.
He will replace Clement, who served just over three months as military chief, when Clement reaches the mandatory retirement age of 56.
Santos will be the 53rd military official to head the 190,000 strong military force, which has been fighting the decade-old communist insurgency and the international terrorists operating in Mindanao.
“I would like to thank President Rodrigo Duterte for his trust and confidence in me to lead the AFP. We will continue to support all the priority programs regarding the peace and security of the President,” Santos said.
Duterte will lead a change-of-command rites in Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City on Saturday to install Santos.
Santos, the Eastmincom chief since January 2019, has been in charge of battling the communist rebels in Davao, Soccsksargen and Caraga.
Santos was a former commander of the 7th Infantry Division in Central Luzon based in Fort Ramon Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija. He has also served as head of the 11th Intelligence Service Unit in Davao City.
He has a masters degree in management and is a member of the Philippine Military Academy “Sinagtala” Class of 1986.
Among his batchmates in the PMA were former police chiefs Ronald dela Rosa and Oscar Albayalde, as well as Philippine Army chief Gilbert Gapay.
He began his career as an officer in the Army’s 39th Infantry Battalion in Mindanao.