ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Marcos signs law amending AFP officers' retirement age, maximum tenure

Marcos signs law amending AFP officers' retirement age, maximum tenure

Published May 18, 2023 02:59 am
President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has signed into law the measure that further strengthens professionalism and promotes the continuity of policies and modernization initiatives in the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), particularly by amending the cumpolsory retirement age and maximum tenure of its officers and personnel. *(File photos: Malacañang/RTVM)*

Republic Act (RA) No. [11939](https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/downloads/2023/05may/20230517-RA-11939-FRM.pdf), signed by the President on May 17, also amends RA 11709, signed in April 2022. Under the new law, the AFP chief of staff shall now have a maximum tour of duty of three consecutive years, starting on the date that his appointment paper is signed, unless the President sooner terminates his appointment. The following officers holding key positions in the AFP shall serve a maximum of two consecutive years: * Commanding General, Philippine Army * Commanding General, Philippine Air Force * Flag Officer in Command, Philippine Navy * Superintendent of the Philippine Military Academy
The said key officers are not eligible for any position in the AFP unless promoted to the Chief of Staff post. To be eligible for appointment or promotion to the grade of Brigadier Genera/Commodore (O-7) or higher, the officer must have at least one year remaining of active service before the compulsory retirement.

Compulsory retirement

Under the new law, those in the grades of Second Lieutenant/Ensign (O-1) to Lieutenant General/Vice Admiral (O-9) are compulsorily retired at age 57 or upon accumulation of 30 years of satisfactory active duty, whichever comes later. The AFP chief of staff and those occupying the key positions will also be retired upon completion of their tour of duty or upon relief by the President. Those commissioned under Presidential Decree No. 1908 and those appointed in the Corps of Professors shall be retired upon reaching the age of 60 or upon completion of 20 years of satisfactory active duty, whichever comes later. Enlisted personnel shall be retired upon accumulating at least 30 years of satisfactory active duty or reaching age 57. Active duty refers to the service or duty of a commissioned officer, enlisted personnel, cadet, probationary officer, trainee, or draftee in the regular force of the AFP.

Maximum tenure

The new law also listed the maximum tenure of officers in the grades of General/Flag Officer in the AFP: * General/Admiral (O-10): Three years * Lieutenant General/Vice Admiral (O-9): Three years * Major General/Rear Admiral (O-8): Three years * Brigadier General/Commodore (O-7): Five years
The maximum tenure of officers in the grades of Colonel, Lieutenant Colonel, Major, and Captain, or their equivalent in the other services in the AFP are as follow: * Colonel/Captain (PN) (O-6): 10 years * Lieutenant Colonel/Commander (PN) (O-5): Seven years * Major/Lieutenant Commander (PN) (O-4): Six years * Captain/Lieutenant (PN) (O-3): Six years
The President may lengthen the tenure-in-grade of officers in the permanent grades of Captain, Major, and Lieutenant Colonel, or their equivalent, up to two promotional cycles when necessary "to maintain the desirable officer rank structure and uphold the progressive professional development of the officer corps."

Related Tags

Bongbong Marcos Armed Forces of the Philippines retirement age tenure President Marcos
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.