AFP chief Bangit to retire early: spokesman
Armed Forces chief of staff Lt. Gen. Delfin Bangit is retiring early after President-elect Benigno Aquino III said he would replace the military chief when he takes over the presidency on June 30, a military spokesman confirmed Monday.
Lt. Col. Arnulfo Burgos said Bangit has already started his farewell rounds and will not wait for July 2011 to retire from the service. The military chief turns 56–the retirement age in the military–on July 11, 2011.
“Definitely he will be retiring from service early. As far as the exact date is concerned, wala pa kaming formal info,” Burgos told reporters.
Burgos said the military chief visited the 2nd Infantry Division, a military unit that he formerly headed as company, battalion and division commander. He said the military chief will also visit military units in Mindanao that he used to head.
He said Bangit told elements of the 2nd Infantry Division to “maintain a high level of professionalism, which was best exemplified by the military’s conduct in the last election.”
Burgos said the successful conduct of the May 2010 election is the biggest accomplishment of Bangit’s short-lived term as AFP chief.
He said that prior to the elections, there were a lot of doubts that the military will be used to cheat in the elections.
“We reminded troops to remain neutral. We said let’s concentrate and focus on our mission, and we accomplished it as shown by the low number of election-related violence as compared to the previous elections,” he said.
Aquino earlier said he will replace Bangit due to perceived differences with the military chief.
Among those reportedly being eyed to replace Bangit are Northern Luzon Command chief Lt. Gen. Ricardo David, Eastern Mindanao Command chief Lt. Gen. Raymundo Ferrer and acting Armed Forces vice chief of staff Lt. Gen. Nestor Ochoa.
All of them belong to Philippine Military Academy Class of 1977.
A Malacañang official, meanwhile, said Bangit has the right to feel hurt about Aquino’s decision after it was announced to the media.
Presidential Management Staff head Elena Bautista-Horn said the military has a procedure in replacing their chiefs-of-staff.
“One of the challenges faced by the incoming president is how to be consultative. He is not just the president of friends and supporters but of his enemies and critics,” she said. ABS-CBN News
