Squabbling in the ranks just ‘birthing pains,’ says AFP chief Centino
AFP chief of staff General Andres Centino
MANILA, Philippines — Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief of staff Gen. Andres Centino on Thursday called the reported squabbling in the ranks over the law that set fixed terms for key officials of the armed forces “birthing pains.”
“Of course, in the implementing days, there are birth pains and usually questions as to how they should be implemented,” Centino said in a press briefing in Camp Aguinaldo after the command conference of the AFP.
Centino said the AFP will be recommending that the Department of National Defense come up with implementing rules and regulations “to specify how this law will be implemented.”
“Perhaps, this will somehow lead to improvement in the [way how] implemented rules will be carried out,” he also said.
Under Republic Act 11709, military officials appointed to key positions will serve a fixed term of three years, except for the Philippine Military Academy superintendent, who will have a four-year tour of duty.
READ: Lawmakers taking AFP pulse about new law on tenure
This law seeks to end the so-called revolving-door policy or the rapid succession of AFP chiefs who had to step down after serving for a short period upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 56.
Concerns were raised over the possibility of a significant number of officers facing attrition or reduction in numbers, especially among lieutenant colonels and colonels who occupy important posts, due to reduced “tenure-in-grades” of seven and eight years, respectively.
A tenure-in-grade is the maximum length of time an officer must serve before being promoted.
Centino previously called for unity among all the military personnel over the law, saying the AFP “cannot afford to remain, or, to be divided and squabbling on how its interpretation stands to benefit one over the other and lose focus on what is best for the armed forces as a whole.”
