AFP’s anti-‘coup’ command to be abolished, replaced by joint task force

AFP Chief of Staff General Jessie Dellosa: Joint task force to replace NCRCom. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff General Jessie Dellosa announced on Tuesday the abolition of the military’s operational command in the nation’s capital by next week.

The AFP National Capital Region Command (NCRCom) will be deactivated on July 12 when the current NCRCom commanding general, Major General Tristan Kison retires, according to Dellosa.

Dellosa said a smaller joint military task force for Metro Manila would take the place of the NCRCom.

The new joint task force will still be composed of units from the three major AFP services (Army, Navy and Air Force) and still based in the Camp Emilio Aguinaldo general military headquarters.

“It’s final. (But) it’s not actually an abolition but a downgrade,” Dellosa told reporters Monday night in Camp Aguinaldo after the retirement ceremonies for former AFP Southern Luzon Command (Solcom) commander, Lieutenant General Roland Detabali.

The joint task force will be “more or less brigade-size” and will be headed by a brigadier general (one-star rank) instead of a major general (two-star rank) under its current setup, according to Dellosa.

“Once General Kison retires, that’s when the NCRcom will be downgraded. It will be a joint task force, it will no longer be the NCR Command,” he said.

The NCRCom’s deactivation is in line with the AFP’s “force restructuring” reform.

Last May 3, the AFP National Development Support Command (Nadescom) was deactivated upon the retirement of its last commander, Maj. Gen. Carlos Holganza.

The NCRCom was originally the National Capital Region Defense Command (NCRDC) created by the late president Corazon Aquino on February 1, 1987.

Amid coup jitters during the presidency of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the NCRDC was converted into a full-blown area command as the NCRCom on October 13, 2003.

The NCRCom had mainly served as an anti-coup unit providing ready troops against rebel soldiers and anti-government civil society groups.

Under the current Aquino administration, the NCRCom continued to provide support to the Philippine National Police during major rallies and transport strikes.

Dellosa said the new joint task force would have the same function as the NCRCom.