PRESIDENT Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr., has selected Southern Luzon (Solcom) area commander, Lt. General Vicente ‘Bob’ Bacarro as the 58th Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, according to the official release on Monday, August 1, from the Press Secretary Atty. Trixie Cruz- Angeles.
A seasoned military officer, Bacarro is only one of the few surviving ‘Medal of Valor’ (MOV) awardee in the entire AFP, having earned his during a fierce gunbattle lasting more than 10 hours with communist terrorists in the hinterlands of Maconacon, Isabela province in December 1991.
Bacarro would be replacing Gen. Andres Centino, who has been in office since November 12, 2021, with the retirement of Gen. Jose Faustino Jr. Faustino is now the officer-in-charge (OIC) at the Department of National Defense.
The turnover ceremony has been scheduled for August 8, 2022, the announcement added.
Bacarro is a product of the ‘Maringal’ Class of 1988 of the Philippine Military Academy.
He would also be the first beneficiary of a new law, RA 11709, signed by President Rodrigo Duterte last April 13, 2022, that fixed the term of the AFP chief for 3 years, as well as those of other senior military officers, namely:
Vice Chief of Staff, the deputy chief of staff, the major service commanders (Philippine Army, Philippine Air Force, Philippine Navy), unified command commanders, and inspector general, “unless sooner terminated by the President.”
Aside from Bacarro, Angeles said also appointed are: P/Lt. General Rodolfo Azurin Jr. and
Atty. Medardo de Lemos.
Azurin, the head of the Directorate for Integrated Police Operations (DIPO) in Northern Luzon, is the new director general of the Philippine National Police (PNP), replacing P/Lt. General Vicente Danao.
Danao has been designated as PNP ‘Officer-In-Charge’ (OIC) by President Duterte before the May 9, 2022 elections, with the retirement of PNP Chief Dionardo Carlos, whose actual retirement fell on the eve of the national elections.
De Lemos, on the other hand, would be the new director of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and has been with the agency for more than 30 years, added Angeles.
De Lemos had previously served as NBI officer in charge (OIC) in 2013, during the Aquino administration.