Duterte eyeing Lt. Gen. Visaya as next AFP chief

SOUTHERN Luzon Command chief Lt. Gen. Ricardo Visaya is one of the military officers being considered as the next Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff by presumptive President Rodrigo Duterte.

Visaya told reporters on Monday that he met  Duterte in Davao City on Sunday night and they discussed pressing security matters in Mindanao.

“Nag-usap kami kagabi…kung anong gusto niyang mangyari sa bansa natin. Gusto niya mawala yung Abu Sayyaf,” he said.

(We talked last night…he told me his wish for our country. He wants to get rid of the Abu Sayyaf.)

“Basta considered ako (I’m being considered for the post),” Visaya said when asked if he was already Duterte’s choice as AFP chief.

Visaya said he was the only active military officer present in the meeting. The rest were retired generals.

A member of the Philippine Military Academy “Matikas” Class of 1983, Visaya was previously considered as AFP chief by President Benigno Aquino III.

Visaya was the ground commander operating in Tarlac and Pampanga when the Hacienda Luisita massacre happened in 2004. He is set to retire in December 2016.

Duterte told reporters on Sunday night that Visaya is one of the candidates to the top AFP post. He even described him as a “vibrant general.”

Last month, Mr. Aquino appointed Lt. Gen. Glorioso Miranda as the acting Armed Forces chief, replacing Lt. Gen. Hernando Iriberri, whose retirement date fell when appointments were banned due to the elections.

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