Defense Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. (MALACAÑANG FILE PHOTO)
MANILA, Philippines — Newly appointed Defense Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. has ordered senior officials of the Department of National Defense (DND) to stay put after they filed their courtesy resignation following the departure of their boss, resigned DND officer in charge Jose Faustino Jr.
Galvez gave the directive during a transition briefing with ranking DND officials and bureau heads on Tuesday. Before this, he talked privately with Faustino, who shared with him the DND’s accomplishments and his own recommendations for the agency.
“While we are ready with our courtesy resignation in accordance with custom—there is nothing extraordinary about it—he immediately gave the order that everybody stays put. Hence, nobody would resign or get out of DND,” Defense Undersecretary Angelito de Leon said during a press briefing at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City on Wednesday after the traditional New Year’s call.
All undersecretaries and assistant secretaries at the DND have agreed to remain in their posts, he told reporters.
Galvez was not present at the New Year’s call attended by senior defense and military officials, as he joined President Marcos on a visit to flood-stricken areas in Misamis Occidental.
1st command conference
He will preside over his first joint defense-military command conference with the reappointed chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Gen. Andres Centino, at Camp Aguinaldo on Thursday, where he is expected to set the tone and direction of his office, De Leon said.
At present, there are three undersecretaries in the defense department: Franco Nemesio Gacal for civil, veterans and reserve affairs; Ignacio Madriaga for strategic assessment and planning; and De Leon for capability assessment and development.
Joselito Ramos, assistant secretary for logistics, acquisitions and self-reliant defense posture, is in charge of the unfilled undersecretary position for acquisition and resource management, which is involved in procurement for the military’s modernization projects.
The other assistant secretaries are: Pablo Lorenzo for plans and programs; Henry Robinson for strategic assessment and international affairs; Antonio Bautista for human resource; Gavin Edjawan for financial management; Emmanuel Anthony Ramos for real estate and installations; and Erik Lawrence Dy for legal and legislative affairs.
On Monday, Malacañang announced that Galvez would be the new defense chief after the President accepted Faustino’s resignation.
The next day, Faustino said he quit his post after being kept out of the loop regarding Centino’s return as AFP chief and the sudden exit of Lt. Gen. Bartolome Bacarro, whom he had supported.
Centino took over from Bacarro as AFP chief during a subdued turnover ceremony on Saturday, only five months after the latter succeeded him in the same role.
Malacañang denied Faustino’s claim that he hadn’t been informed of the change of military command.
But senior officials who spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed to the Inquirer that Faustino had indeed been blindsided by Centino’s reappointment.
‘Strike 2’
Three senior administration officials privy to the matter said the former OIC was also kept in the dark when Malacañang tapped Ariel Nepomuceno to replace Raymundo Ferrer as administrator of Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in late December.
OCD, the implementing arm of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, is one of the agencies under the DND.
As in Centino’s case, Faustino had learned about Nepomuceno’s appointment only from media reports, one of the officials told the Inquirer.
That was “strike 2,” a second source said.
Nepomuceno, who served as deputy commissioner of the Bureau of Customs prior to his appointment, took his oath before Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin on Dec. 28. Photos released by Malacañang indicated that Faustino was not present.
Faustino welcomed Nepomuceno at Camp Aguinaldo on Dec. 29, a day after the oath-taking.
Nepomuceno previously served as executive officer of the OCD in 2012. He was once included in former Sen. Panfilo Lacson’s list of customs officials who supposedly took bribes but was later cleared of the allegations.
‘Morale remains high’
Despite the shake-up in the defense and military leadership that sparked talk of military unrest over the weekend, De Leon said morale remained high among the civilians and soldiers in the DND and AFP.
“Based on the turnout in this morning’s traditional joint DND New Year’s Call, all the key commanders of the AFP and the DND civilian bureaus were there, so I think there is no issue on morale. The morale remains high; we are focused on our mandate,” he said.
Faustino had served as the country’s top defense official since the start of the Marcos administration in June last year.
He was expected to be named a full-fledged defense secretary in November after the one-year appointment ban on retired military officials lapsed but his new papers never came.