AFP honors deceased former chief of staff

Former Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff General Delfin Bangit. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – Flags at all military camps will fly at half-staff in honor of former Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff General Delfin Bangit, who died Friday following an illness.

In a statement on Saturday, the AFP said Bangit, who was 58, will be given full honors when his remains are brought to military headquarters at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City on December 17.

Bangit was the 39th AFP chief of staff. He was appointed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo a few months before she stepped down from office in June 2010. He was supposed to serve until his mandatory retirement at the age of 56 in July 2011.

His term, however, was cut short when the then newly elected President Benigno Aquino III said he did not want Bangit as chief of staff.

Bangit opted for early retirement in June 2010.

Bangit was known as one of former President Arroyo’s favorite generals.

From commanding Arroyo’s security force when she was vice president, he went on to head the Presidential Security Group when she became president.

Arroyo later appointed him commanding general of the Philippine Army.

The Army said it mourned Bangit, describing him as someone who sought to fight the insurgency by winning the people’s hearts and minds instead of through “traditional means.”

The military also hailed him for his non-partisanship.

“Without any ambiguity, he declared his stand for the Constitution and stood up to insulate the AFP from politics,” the military said in its statement.

Bangit is survived by his wife, Daisy, and three children. He will be buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani on December 18.

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