AFP chief’s classmate named new spokesman

MANILA, Philippines - Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Emmanuel Bautista has appointed one of his classmates in the Philippine Military Academy  (PMA) as the new spokesman for the 125,000-strong military.

Brig. Gen. Domingo Tutaan Jr. has been named the new military spokesman to replace Col. Arnulfo Burgos Jr., who will become the Army’s civil-military operations chief.

Both Bautista and Tutaan are members of PMA Class 1981.

Tutaan will also be the concurrent military internal auditor, which oversees the fiscal administration of AFP units and offices.

“We will aspire without compromise to have transparency in all our actions,” Tutaan said in a statement.

“The judicious and prudent use of resources, most especially our funds must be the primordial consideration in all our undertakings,” he added.

Prior to his appointment as spokesman and internal auditor, Tutaan was chief of the AFP Human Rights Office.

Burgos, a member of PMA Class 1988, will be relinquishing his post as spokesman and public affairs office (PAO) chief after more than three years.

Maj. Ramon Zagala, the outgoing assistant civil-military operations chief of the Special Forces Regiment (Airborne), will replace Burgos at PAO.

Burgos served as the military’s spokesman at the height of controversies that hit the AFP.

He was the AFP spokesman when the issues involving military corruption, the supposed illegal arrest of the Morong 43, and the Al Barka clash that left 19 soldiers dead erupted.

It was also during Burgos’ stint as spokesman when key developments like the Scarborough Shoal intrusion by Chinese ships and the termination of the peace talks with the communist rebels transpired.