The Senate is proposing to set the term of the chief of staff and other senior military commanders holding key positions in the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to three years in a bid to end the habit of appointing “quickie generals,” and stop the Commander-in-Chief’s practice of the “revolving door” policy.
The chamber was also moving to raise or adjust the mandatory retirement age of soldiers to 59 from the currently observed 56, a proposal that was earlier been endorsed and supported by the Department of National Defense.
“Short-term leadership of ‘quickie generals,’ so to speak, often undermines the integrity and competence of the position of chief of staff. It erodes short- and long-term strategic planning and development, leaving behind reforms to take root and effect meaningful change in the military,” said Senator Panfilo Lacson.
Lacson sponsored committee report 297 on Senate Bill 2376, an “Act Strengthening Professionalism and Continuity of the Policies and Modernization Initiatives of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Providing Funds Therefor, and for Other Purposes,” which substituted Senate Bill Numbers 1785, 1045 and 1370 filed by Senators Richard Gordon, Aquilino Pimentel III and Emmanuel Pacquiao, respectively.
Fixed terms
Among others, the bill wants to give a fixed term of three years to the chief of staff, vice chief of staff, the deputy chief of staff, the major service commanders, commanders of the area commands and the military’s inspector general.
It also proposes to accord the superintendent of the Philippine Military Academy a longer tour of duty of four years provided that he is not eligible for any other position in the military and be retired from the military upon the completion of his tour of duty.
“These key positions rightfully deserve a sense of stability and continuity of their service which the AFP’s revolving door policy is devoid of,” Lacson said in his sponsorship speech.
“It goes without saying that this bill provides the much-needed ‘moral incentive’ to our military leaders. With their appointment at the helm of the AFP, they get the chance not only to learn the ropes but to actually steer the Armed Forces in the right direction,” he added.
Lacson, chairman of the Senate National Defense Committee, however, emphasized that the fixed term of the military’s top brass do not affect the Commander-in-Chief’s power to terminate or relieve them from their posts.
Too many of them
In sponsoring the committee report, Lacson noted that 37 senior officers have been appointed as chief of staff during the term of six past and incumbent Presidents, 10 of them under President Duterte.
“Time and again, we see leaders of our armed forces come and go through the ‘revolving door policy,’ staying in the office just to warm up their seats and not long enough to implement their legacy programs. This state of things has always been a disservice to the mandates of the military leadership entrusted with the security and defense of the country,” he said.
Senate Bill 2376 also calls for a “more ideal General/Flag Officer-to-total force ratio” of one general for every 1,000 soldiers, as it addresses observations that the military had been overly populated with star rank officers.
Likewise, it pushes for the implementation of a merit-based promotion and attrition systems that will “assure the Armed Forces of a continuous pool of qualified and effective leaders” and amend the age of commission of officers from the current 21 to 26 years of age to 21 up to 28 years old.