President extends Año tour of duty

AFP Chief of Staff, General Eduardo Año PHOTO BY JOSEPH VIDAL

President Rodrigo Duterte has extended the tour of duty of Gen. Eduardo Año, Armed Forces of the Philippines  chief of staff, as “implementer” of martial law in Mindanao.

Mr. Duterte likewise tapped newly appointed Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu, a former AFP chief of staff, as the “civilian authority” who will give orders to Año.

Speaking upon his arrival from Moscow late Wednesday, the President said he extended Año’s tour of duty for six months because, “I do not want to change horses midstream.”

Addressing Año, Mr. Duterte said, “You, sir, will be the implementer [of martial law]. You get your orders from the civilian authority, Roy Cimatu.”

He told Año, who was supposed to retire this week to take over the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) portfolio: “You will implement [martial law]. So there would no longer be questions, you will be reporting to a civilian official.”

“In the higher echelons of the authority, it must emanate from a civilian,” the President said.

Mr. Duterte said he tapped Cimatu to be the civilian authority because he was a former AFP chief of staff.

Undersecretary Catalino Cuy, a former Davao City police chief, will remain acting interior secretary until Año assumes the top DILG post upon his retirement.