The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine Army (PA) said Saturday, Jan. 21, that it has promoted to the next higher rank 22 senior military officers as the career advancement of officials start to get back on the right track.
AFP Chief of Staff, General Andres Centino donned the two-star rank to newly promoted Major General Edgar M. Cardinoza, commander of the AFP Health Service Command; Maj. Gen. Jose Maria R. Cuerpo II, Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel; Maj. Gen. Leonel M. Nicolas, Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence; and Maj. Gen. Marvin L. Licudine, commander of the AFP Education, Training, and Doctrine Command.
The ceremony was held at the AFP General Headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.
Centino also donned the two-star rank to newly promoted Maj. Gen. Arturo Rojas in a separate ceremony in Zamboanga City as the latter relinquished his post as the acting commander of the Western Mindanao Command (WestMinCom).
Meanwhile, PA Commanding General, Lt. Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. presided over the donning of ranks to new two-star army officers – Maj. Gen. Antonio G. Nafarrete, commander of the 11th Infantry Division; and Maj. Gen. Audrey L. Pasia, commander of the 5th Infantry Division.
On the other hand, promoted as Brigadier Generals or one-star generals were Alexei Musñgi, commander of Joint Task Force – National Capital Region (JTF-NCR); Rommel R. Cordova, AFP Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans; and Bernardo R. Fortez, AFP Adjutant General.
Commodore Oscar D. Canlas Jr., Deputy Commander of the Visayas Command, also obtained his first star.
Eleven army colonels were also promoted to the rank Brigadier General and earned their first star.
They were Brig. Gens. Ferdinand B. Napuli, Oriel L. Pangcog, Perfecto P. Peñaredondo, Lenart R. Lelina, Rommel B. Almaria, Edmundo G. Peralta, Leodevic B. Guinid, Joel M. Paloma, Noel A. Vestuir, Francis Anthony M. Coronel, and Michael A. Santos.
“I wish all of our honorees all the best as they take on greater responsibilities and manage higher expectations that come along with higher ranks,” Centino said.
He also reiterated the importance of professionalism and meritocracy as among the most important values in the AFP.
“These two principles will fortify the foundations of our organization and enable us to withstand challenges while allowing us to adapt to the changes of time. May you continue to be empowering leaders, adept managers, and committed public servants,” Centino said.
The promotions of AFP personnel have been stalled for quite some time due to the unintended consequences of the newly passed Republic Act 11709, which mandates a fixed and longer tour-of-duty to select senior military officials.