Duterte signs law raising military retirement age


President Duterte has signed a law increasing the mandatory retirement age of key officials in the military to up to 60 years old.

Republic Act No. 11709 stated that members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) with the grades of Second Lieutenant/Ensign (O-1) to Colonel/Capitan (O-6) shall be retired at the age of 56 or upon accumulating 30 years of satisfactory active duty.

Meanwhile, those with the grades of Brigadier General/Commodore (O-7) to Lieutenant General/Vice Admiral (O-9) shall be retired at 59 years old or the maximum tenure-in-grade of three years.

For officers commissioned under Presidential Decree No. 1908 or those appointed in the Corps of Professors, they must retire at the age of 60 or after 20 years of duty.

An enlisted personnel, on the other hand, shall be compulsorily retired upon accumulation of at least 30 years of service or upon reaching the age of 56.

Lastly, those occupying a key position in the military must be retired upon completion of their fixed tour of duty, which is three years, regardless of their age. The key positions are: chief of staff, vice chief of staff, deputy chief of staff, commanding general of the Philippine Army, commanding general of Philippine Air Force, flag officer of Philippine Navy, unified command commanders and inspector general.

The law, which was signed on April 13 but was only released to the media on May 16, stated that the age requirement for those wanting to be enlisted shall not be less than 18 and not more than 26.

In March 2018, Duterte said he wanted the retirement age of military officers to be at 75.

He said 56 "is too early," considering that the government is spending so much for the military and cannot maximize them.