Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 4) – Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Jose Faustino, Jr. said he supports a fixed term for the head of the military organization.
Faustino formally took on the role just last week – the tenth to assume the post under the Duterte administration.
But like those who came before him, his term will only run for a few months.
Faustino is scheduled to retire in November, when he turns 56.
“You know, we are now, I should say, limited by the provisions in the law that all of us will retire by the age of 56,” he told CNN Philippines in an interview aired on Wednesday.
“I agree that there should be a fixed term for the chief of staff,” he said.
Bills that set a fixed term for top AFP officers and raise the mandatory retirement age have already been filed in Congress.
Among those pushing for a longer tenure for generals is Senator Richard Gordon, who said there’s a need to put an end to the “revolving door” policy.
In filing Senate Bill No. 1785 last year, Gordon said this kind of short-term leadership “allows for political patronage and accommodation promotion, which favors personalities over the security and defense of our nation.”
Still, Faustino said the AFP’s goals aren’t negatively affected by the constantly changing leadership, noting that they are all following the same roadmap.
“Based kasi sa institution ‘yung mission namin [Our mission is based on the institution], not on the person,” he said.
“If you will look at the…accomplishments na nagawa ng AFP with all those short-term chiefs of staff na sinundan ko, maganda ‘yung resulta,” he added.
[Translation: If you will look at the AFP’s accomplishments under all those short-term chiefs of staff I succeeded, the results are good.]
Earlier, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said he also agrees there should be a fixed term for AFP officers, saying it will “lend more stability” among uniformed ranks.
