Tutaan is new AFP spokesman

MANILA, Philippines – The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has a new mouthpiece.

Brig. Gen. Domingo Tutaan has been designated as the new spokesman of the 125,000-strong force, replacing Col. Arnulfo Burgos Jr. who had been the voice and face of the military since 2010.

Tutaan, erstwhile chief of the AFP Human Rights Office, will hold the position concurrently as head of the military’s Office of the Internal Auditor.

Burgos, who has been named commander of the Army’s Civil Military Operations Group, will also relinquish his post as chief of the AFP’s Public Information Office to Maj. Ramon Zagala.

“I feel so indebted to the people I’ve worked with, specifically to Team Public Affairs of the AFP and to the media, particularly to the members of the Defense Press Corps, who were instrumental in conveying our messages to the public,” Burgos said in a statement.

He also thanked Army chief Lt. Gen. Noel Coballes for giving him the opportunity to lead the Army unit tasked in handling the civil affairs of the largest branch of the AFP.

“I would like to thank also AFP chief of staff General Emmanuel Bautista for giving me the opportunity to serve under him and for allowing me to further my growth and career in the military profession,” he said.

Already the longest-serving AFP spokesperson, Burgos had been described by several journalists covering the defense beat as arguably the most “media-friendly” information officer the military ever had.

Burgos, a member of the Philippine Military Academy Class of 1988, occupied the position since March 10, 2010, and served as the alter ego of five AFP chiefs of staff.

Tutaan, meanwhile, vowed transparency in handling the financial resources of the AFP, which had been rocked in the past by corruption scandals involving senior military officials.

“The judicious and prudent use of resources, most especially our funds, must be the primordial consideration in all our undertakings,” Tutaan said.

“Under my stewardship, the office shall be proactive in setting and implementing our agenda in order not to simply react on situations. We will aspire without compromise to have transparency in all our actions,” he added.

Tutaan, whose younger brother, Col. Federico Tutaan, was tagged in the killing of botanist Leonard Co in Kananga, Leyte, in November 2010, will be replaced as AFP human rights officer by Col. Rhoderick Parayno, who had held the same post in the Army.