The Commission on Appointments (CA) on Wednesday, September 15, approved the nomination and promotion of Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief of staff Lieutenant General Jose Faustino Jr. to four-star rank. 

With the CA’s confirmation, Faustino was promoted from Lieutenant General to General – the highest rank in the military. On July 30, President Rodrigo Duterte named Faustino as the 56th chief of the 140,000-strong military. 

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Just like his predecessors, Faustino was promoted to full general even though his term was only for a few months. He is poised to serve for only four months. He will reach the mandatory retirement age of 56 on November 12. 

Faustino is the 10th military chief appointed by Duterte in less than six years, rivaling the 11 AFP chiefs named by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in her nine years as military’s commander-in-chief. 

Before being appointed as the military chief, he served as the commanding general of the army. However, the defense department was forced to cut short his term after Senator Panfilo Lacson, flagged his appointment as unconstitutional.

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Aside from Faustino, the CA also confirmed the nomination and promotion of Major General Bartolome Bacarro to Lieutenant General. On September 8, the CA deferred Bacarro’s appointment over queries regarding the general’s involvement in the fatal Philippine Military Academy hazing gaffe. 

The CA also confirmed the promotion of Philippine Army chief of staff Brigadier General Roberto Capulong to Major General. The nomination of Philippine Navy flag officer-in-command Vice Admiral Adeluis Bordado was also confirmed on Wednesday.

The confirmation of over 20 other military officers were also confirmed during the hearing. – Rappler.com