Lieutenant General Antonio G. Nafarrete, called “Toto” by his peers, never dreamed of becoming a soldier. Unlike many of his classmates at the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) who had long envisioned themselves in uniform, his journey into the armed forces was more of an unexpected turn than a lifelong ambition.

Yet he discovered not just a career but a calling that would eventually shape his life, and now, the future of the Philippine Army (PA) as its new commanding general.

Born in Manila on Feb. 22, 1969 to a lawyer from Pangasinan and a teacher from Iloilo, Nafarrete spent his early childhood in the city before the family settled in Iloilo. “We were six siblings in the family, and I’m the youngest with twin sisters,” the 56-year-old Army official said in an exclusive interview with the Manila Bulletin at Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City on Aug. 20.

His father, Atty. Perpetuo Nafarrete, passed away during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, while his 90-year-old mother, Maria Daisy Gustilo, is a retired teacher at the Ramon Magsaysay High School in Manila and remains active as a board director of their family’s rural bank in La Paz, Iloilo.

Though raised in a household that valued education, the young Antonio never saw himself in a soldier’s boots. His real inclination was toward farming, a passion rooted in summers spent tending rice fields and sugarcane lands in Calinog, Iloilo.

“When I was little, our grandmother was a disciplinarian. All of us lived in the city, but every summer we would go home to our province in Calinog, which is 54 kilometers from La Paz. We had rice and sugarcane fields there, and she would always bring us to the farm so we could feel that even if we owned such land, we had to work hard and sweat for it ourselves,” he related.

However, in his senior high school year at West Visayas State University, fate intervened. A diary and pamphlet about the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) caught his eye.

In 1986, amid left and right coup d’état against then-president Corazon Aquino, Nafarrete entered the PMA right after graduating from high school. He became part of the Alpha company and served as a squad leader and, eventually, a platoon leader.

He shared that among those who became his mentors were generals Lisandro Abadia and Rodolfo Biazon, who served as the PMA Commandant of Cadets and Superintendent, respectively, at the time. “Ang galing ng leadership skills nila (Their leadership skills were excellent).”

Four years later, he graduated from the PMA as part of the “Bigkis-Lahi” Class of 1990, stepping directly into a country torn by coup attempts and insurgencies.

His first posting as a young first lieutenant at the 10th Infantry Battalion, 1st Infantry Division in Zamboanga del Sur taught him lessons no academy could fully prepare him for. “I became a platoon leader but my troops were older than me,” he said in Filipino.

This really tested his leadership skills as he needed to make sure the troops would follow his lead despite the age gap. “You have to listen to your non-commissioned officers, too. They’ll make sure you survive during field operations.”

Nafarrete then underwent training to be a Scout Ranger, eventually becoming one of the pioneers in organizing the 1st Scout Ranger Company in the 1ID when the First Scout Ranger Regiment was reactivated in 1991.

After that, he served in various leadership posts as a Scout Ranger and at the AFP Joint Special Operations Group until 2010.

But Nafarrete’s career was not limited to the battlefield. From 2010 to 2015, he served in the Presidential Security Group (PSG), providing external security for the late former president Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III. He supervised security operations that, at one point, required an emergency scramble when Aquino’s helicopter was forced to land during a storm in Tarlac.

While commanding troops in Mindanao, he saw firsthand the toll of stress and separation from their families.

This was the very reason why Nafarrete mentioned during his assumption as the chief of the 110,000-strong Philippine Army on July 31 that his priorities would focus on the welfare of the troops. His five-point command guidance emphasizes personnel development, morale, health, education, and financial literacy of the troops.

“Our greatest asset is really the soldier. Every soldier matters,” he said. “They are the strength of the Army, they are the ones who are behind the triggers. Even if we have the technology, if we are not well-trained, if we are not well-disciplined, their health is not okay, it’s all for nothing. But we also have to improve their equipment, their force protection, for them to survive.”

He said he envisions a modernized Army, equipped not only with howitzers, missile systems, and cyber capabilities but also with soldiers trained in leadership, critical thinking, and resilience.

While most of the time, ordinary people would look at soldiers as cold-blooded warriors, Nafarrete said he wanted to introduce himself to the people as a soldier with a heart. “To the public, your Army will always be your Army. We are here to protect you and secure the land.”

At the helm of the Philippine Army, Nafarrete acknowledged that he carries not only the weight of the institution but also the aspirations of the soldiers who march behind him.

His message to the troops is simple: “Maintain your professionalism and do your job well. I will look after your welfare at the frontlines. Lastly, always pray to the Almighty. I do that every day, for all of you.” (Photos from the Office of the Army Chief Public Affairs)