‘Always do what is good, proper and right,’ ex-Air Force chief tells troops
CHANGE OF COMMAND President Duterte witnesses the turnover of leadership of the Philippine Air Force from outgoing Lt. Gen. Galileo Gerard Kintanar (left) to Lt. Gen. Rozzano Briguez during a program at Villamor Air Base in Pasay City on Friday. —JOAN BONDOC
MANILA, Philippines — Philippine Air Force chief Lt. Gen. Galileo Gerard Kintanar Jr. has relinquished his post — leaving many questions about his sudden replacement still unanswered — but the outgoing speech he delivered Friday may be worth to take note of for the airmen.
Integrity was mentioned a few times in his speech.
“My fellowmen, members of the Blue Team, tango yankee (thank you) much for your unqualified support, your big heart and enduring inspiration. Press on with tapang, galing at malasakit,” Kintanar said.
“Continue to live our core values of Integrity, service above self, teamwork, excellence in everything that we do, and and professionalism. Always do what is good, proper and right,” he added.
Early December, Kintanar was suddenly replaced without an immediate announcement of his next assignment even if he was 13 months away from retirement. He served as Air Force chief for 14 months.
There are talks in social media that Kintanar was removed from his post for sticking to the Air Force technical working group’s selection of attack and combat utility helicopters despite interventions from outsiders.
The outgoing Air Force chief has refused to comment on speculations and said he will address them when he retires from service in January 2020. President Rodrigo Duterte has appointed him at the change of command ceremony as the incoming administrator of Philippine Coconut Authority.
“I assumed as the 35th Commanding General on the 24th of October last year, on my mother’s birthday, with a declaration that ‘Blessed is the Air Force whose God is the Lord,’ that I will lead the organization with integrity and good example, that I will propel the Philippine Air Force as a Blue Team at Topspeed, for peace and resilient development,” he said.
Kintanar also highlighted in his speech the Air Force bested other major service arms of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in terms of performance.
“The Philippine Air Force today is the most disciplined, best led and properly managed service arm in the AFP. Its 98.41 percent performance rating of Excellent conferred by The Inspector General last August is the highest in the Armed Forces for 2019,” he said.
He noted the Air Force has the least number of discipline, law and order cases among the major services and almost drug-free with only one violator. It also now has a fully-functional fighter base; was named as the Best Civil Disturbance Management Unit among the uniformed services in the AFP and the Philippine National Police; and the Best Shooter in SWAT challenge in Davao City early this year.
Among other things, Kintanar said the Air Force has also enhanced its capability for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance through the use of modern equipment such as the Scan Eagle, the Caravan 208 and the SABIR system from the United States.
The Air Force has also made the best use of the government procurement system “in a very transparent and efficient manner.”
“Adherence and faith in the procurement system has been translated to the timely delivery of its demand requirements; it has sustained the air force,” he said.
“The bottom line, our Air Force today has integrity. It has performed quite well in service to God, country and people. It is led and managed by professional airmen through good example and proper governance,” he added. /kga
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