House OKs bill fixing term of AFP chief to 3 years

MANILA, Philippines - The House of Representatives has approved on third and final reading a bill giving the chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) a fixed three-year term.

Muntinlupa City Rep. Rodolfo Biazon, chairman of the House committee on national defense and security, said the measure seeks to shield the selection process for the position from undue political and personal considerations by ensuring that merit and fitness prevail.

“The person at the helm of the AFP should enjoy a secure term that would allow him or her adequate time to plan, test and execute matters to best achieve a desired end,” Biazon, principal author of the bill and a former military chief of staff, said.

The measure was transmitted to the Senate last Feb. 24.

Under the bill, the AFP chief’s fixed three-year term of office shall commence on the date of appointment by the President, regardless of the date of confirmation by the Commission on Appointments.

The bill provides, however, that the president - as commander-in-chief - may remove the chief of staff for loss of confidence at any time.

“It is more imperative in the case of a key government position such as the AFP chief of staff whose security of tenure, though limited by the Constitution to three years, is prejudiced by a compulsory retirement law,” Biazon said.

“Such situation oftentimes limits the President’s choice to fill in vacancies in the AFP to senior officers whose dates of retirement draw near, giving the impression that the President’s action is politically driven,” he said.

Biazon said it is only proper that a person chosen to serve in such capacity is the most qualified and not just the most senior, and is empowered enough to implement programs and policies and deliver the objectives of the institution.

The bill provides that the President shall select from among the officers in the grades of major general, rear admiral to lieutenant general, and vice admiral.

Also based on the measure, no officer shall be appointed chief of staff if he has less than two years remaining in active service. No extension of term shall be allowed, except in cases of war or national emergencies as declared by Congress.

Meanwhile, AFP chief Gen. Eduardo Oban Jr. said they need to buy “additional military assets” to address “internal security threats.”

“Our security focus now is to address internal security, armed threats and the AFP needs additional military assets,” Oban said.

The AFP is still battling the communist New People’s Army (NPA), renegade members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and Abu Sayyaf terrorists.

By the middle of this year, Oban said the country would acquire two C-130 cargo aircraft. The Air Force currently has only one C-130 plane.

“Don’t worry, by the middle of this year we will have three C-130s already,” Oban said.

He also said the Philippine Navy (PN) is also preparing to commission a Hamilton Class vessel it acquired from the United States Coast Guard.

Oban also said the military is eyeing the purchase of long-range patrol aircraft and vessels which the AFP intends to utilize as “transition military assets” for its external defense program.

President Aquino has ordered the release of P8 billion for the planned military procurement.

The AFP lags behind its Asian counterparts in terms of capability to enforce maritime security and defend its claims over the Spratly Islands or the Kalayaan Island Group.

The Kalayaan group is composed of islets, atolls and reefs being claimed in whole or in part by China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.

Except for Brunei, all claimant countries have troops in the area. – Paolo Romero and Jaime Laude