Sixteen years ago, Gilberto Teodoro Jr. was named as the youngest ever to become the country’s defense chief at the age of 43. Now, he is back to lead the Department of National Defense (DND) amid new security challenges in the region and a shift of focus in military operations from internal security to external defense.
Gilberto "Gibo" Teodoro Jr. (File photo)
Teodoro, or Gibo to his family and close friends, has been appointed by Pres. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to be the DND Secretary, the Malacañang announced on Monday, June 5.
Teodoro is the third defense chief under the Marcos administration although he is the first to hold the title as a Secretary.
He replaced OIC Senior Undersecretary Carlito Galvez Jr., who served as the DND caretaker for 147 days or since Jan. 9. Retired military general Jose Faustino Jr. also served as DND OIC from June 2022 to Jan. 2023.
The DND and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) welcomed on Tuesday, June 6, the appointment of Teodoro as the new defense chief.
In a statement, Galvez thanked Marcos for entrusting him the leadership of the defense department for nearly five months, and the AFP and other civilian bureaus for supporting him during his tenure.
“We have achieved great strides in our priority programs on internal security, territorial defense, disaster preparedness, and the continued development of the defense organization,” Galvez said.
“Rest assured that the DND has my unequivocal support as we all work together in the pursuit of our vision of a peaceful, stable, and prosperous Philippines,” he added.
Meanwhile, Col. Medel Aguilar, AFP spokesperson, said that Teodoro's “decisive leadership, professional competence, and wealth of experience” will “will help build upon our gains in the defense and security of the country.”
The AFP also thanked Galvez “for his inspiring and dedicated leadership in the Defense department.”
The National Security Council (NSC) also welcomed Teodoro to the security sector, saying that his former stint as the DND chief puts him at an advantage to end the country's insurgency problem.
“As a former holder of the defense portfolio, Sec. Teodoro already carries with him a wealth of experience that will greatly assist in our march towards total victory against Communist Terrorism as well as in protecting our maritime entitlements and defending our territorial integrity in the face tensions in the West PH Sea,” said National Security Adviser Eduardo Año.
“We look forward to working closely with him face the ever changing threats to our national security,” he added.
Returning defense chief
Teodoro, 58, is no stranger to public service.
He completed his secondary education at the Xavier School, and shortly after that, was elected President of the Kabataang Barangay for Tarlac in 1980 and concurrently assumed Presidency of the Kabataang Barangay for Central Luzon until 1985. He also became a member of the Sanguniang Panlalawigan of Tarlac from 1980 to 1986.
He completed his Bachelor of Science in Commerce, Major in Financial Institutions at the De La Salle University in 1984. In 1989, he completed his Law studies at the University of the Philippines where he was awarded the Dean’s Medal for Academic Excellence. In the same year, he topped the Philippine Bar exams.
He then went to the Harvard Law School in Cambridge for his Master of Laws and completed it in 1997. He was also admitted to the State Bar of New York during the same year.
He is the son of the former SSS Administrator Gilberto Teodoro Sr. and Mercedes Cojuangco. He is married to former Rep. Monica Prieto-Teodoro.
In 2007, he became the youngest DND Secretary after then president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo appointed him to the post. Prior to this, he was a congressman and served for three terms as the representative of the First District of Tarlac from 1998 to 2007.
“As head of the Department of National Defense, Secretary Teodoro is keen on ably pursuing Philippine defense reforms and is determined to make the defense and military establishment truly responsive to the needs and aspirations of the Filipino people,” part of his DND profile read.
His term as the DND chief lasted until 2009, and he decided to run for the presidency in 2010 but lost to Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III.
In 2016, Teodoro was reportedly offered twice by former president Rodrigo Duterte to be the defense chief although he rejected it both times.
He then ran under the senatorial slate of Marcos in the May 2022 elections where he ranked 15th, three slots short of the 12 available seats.
Teodoro’s return to the DND came after the lapse of the one-year ban on appointment for losing candidates in the 2022 polls.
Daunting task
A daunting task awaits Teodoro at the DND as the military shifts its attention from battling communist insurgents, local terrorists, and other internal security threats to defending the territory from outside forces through fortifying its external defense.
Teodoro is expected to continue the programs initiated by his predecessor, including the development of the four new Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sites: two in Cagayan, and one each in Isabela and Palawan.
He is also expected to follow the foreign policy of Marcos, who ordered the DND and AFP not to lose even an inch of Philippine territory amid tension in the West Philippine Sea.
He is also seen to continue the bilateral and multilateral engagements of the DND with traditional and emerging allies to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific region; try to establish a self-sustaining military that can produce its own weapons and assets through the Self-Reliant Defense Posture (SRDP) Program; and push for the third horizon of the AFP’s modernization program including the procurement of more sophisticated assets such as multi-role fighter aircraft, missile systems, and possibly the country’s first ever submarine.
(Updated story to reflect AFP and NSC's statements on the appointment)