President Rodrigo Duterte has appointed Lt. Gen. Jose Faustino, Jr. as the next chairman of the joint chiefs of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
Faustino will succeed incumbent AFP chief Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, who will reach the mandatory retirement age of 56 on July 31.
Palace spokesman Harry Roque confirmed Faustino’s appointment in a statement.
“We confirm that President Rodrigo Roa Duterte approved and signed the designation of Lt. Gen Jose Faustino, Jr. as chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines effective July 31, 2021,” Roque said.
“We are confident that Gen. Faustino will continue the peace and development efforts of his predecessors while aggressively building up our defense capability,” he added.
Faustino will reach the mandatory retirement age of 56 in November.
Faustino had a short stint as acting army chief.
He was also commander of the 35th Infantry Battalion and the 501st Infantry Brigade in Sulu. John Ezekiel J. Hirro