AFP welcomes Bautista’s appointment as new Army chief

Major General Emmanuel Bautista

MANILA, Philippines—The Armed Forces of the Philippines on Tuesday welcomed the appointment of Major General Emmanuel Bautista as the commanding general of the Philippine Army.

“The Armed Forces of the Philippines welcomes the appointment of Major General Emmanuel Bautista as the new Commanding General of the Philippine Army,” said AFP spokesman Colonel Arnulfo Burgos said.

Bautista will replace Lieutenant General Arturo Ortiz, who will retire from the service Wednesday, Burgos said in a text message.

Bautista served as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and was involved in the crafting of the Internal Peace and Security Plan “Bayanihan”, Burgos said.

The IPSP is the military’s internal security plan that replaced Oplan Bantay Laya.

“With the Aquino government committed in shifting the focus of peace and security efforts on the people, Major General Bautista led the formulation of the AFP medium term plan Bayanihan through the conduct of a series of conferences and workshops involving various stakeholders,” he said.

“The six-year plan involves innovative approaches and paradigm shifts and is now the blueprint of the AFP in winning the peace,” Burgos added.

Bautista is currently the commander of the 3rd Infantry Division.

“It’s an honor to have been designated as Commanding General. It is an opportunity and I take it as challenge to do good for the Army,” Bautista told reporters in a phone interview.