Philippines President cuts short military chief of staff's term, replaces him with retiring general

Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr on Saturday announced that he is replacing the military chief of staff with a retiring general, without giving any explanation for the sudden move.The president's office made the announcement of Lt Gen Bartolome Bacarro's replacement, who was given the highest military award for his combat bravery. The three-year office term of Bacarro was to end in August 2025.

Lt Gen Andres Centino, the military chief of staff whose place Bacarro had taken in August last year, was appointed to the highest position of the 144,000-strong armed forces. Centino, whose term was to end next month, was selected from dozen senior generals and will now serve a fresh term of three years.

Reacting to his removal from the position, Bacarro said that the new chief will get the support of the military. National police spokesperson Col Jean Fajardo said a “heightened alert” hasbeen issued to secure the safety of an annual religious gathering in Manila, denying its link with any purported military restiveness as hinted in the social media.

In the turnover ceremony held at the main military camp in Manila on Saturday, Centino was handed a sabre by Bacarro, which symbolises the transfer of military leadership as the latter thanked the president, the military and his family.

The ceremony was not attended by President Marcos, who was represented by his close aide Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin.

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In a speech, Bersamin said that he was impressed by the smooth transition of military leadership which the politicians should emulate to avoid any unrest post-elections.

“Continue with this tradition, where you respect each other, where you give so much consideration to the qualifications of your fellow officers in order to enable your organisation … to move forward instead of looking back,” said Bersamin.

The appointment of military chiefs is a sensitive issue in the Philippines where military has a history of restiveness, failed coup attempts, corruption scandals. The military has faced accusations of human rights violations and efforts were made for years to insulate it from the country’s chaotic and corruption-tainted politics.

(With inputs from agencies)