Dellosa has favored successor but keeps name close to chest

From Malaya (Nov 19): Dellosa has favored successor but keeps name close to chest

TWO months away from his mandatory retirement from the service, Armed Forces chief Gen. Jessie Dellosa has already chosen the officer he would recommend to be his successor. Dellosa, who is reaching the mandatory retirement age of 56 on January 20, would not say who his choice is but sources said among top contenders are Army chief Lt. Gen. Emmanuel Bautista and Air Force chief Lt. Gen. Lauro Catalino dela Cruz. Bautista is member of Class 1981 of the Philippine Military Academy and De la Cruz, Class 1980. Dellosa belongs to Class 1979. Dellosa said all generals are qualified, even one-star generals, based on the law. He also said the Board of Generals will not convene to deliberate on the candidates because its members are themselves contenders. Dellosa, as AFP chief, chairs the BOG. The board’s members are AFP vice Lt. Gen. Noel Coballes, AFP deputy chief Lt. Gen. Gregorio Macapagal, Bautista, Dela Cruz and Navy chief Vice Adm. Alexander Pama. Pama is actually out of the picture because he is due to retire on December 21. Coballes, Bautista, and Dela Cruz have over a year in service left when Dellosa retires while Macapagal would have only 10 months left in the service by that time. “Actually, when selecting a chief of staff, this does not go through the Board of Generals because all the members of the Board of the Generals are qualified, what I mean to say is they are contenders so this does not go through the Board of Generals,” he said. “The secretary of national defense, the President and myself, we’ll just be the ones who will talk about this,” added Dellosa of his possible successor. Dellosa said he would make his recommendation to the President through the defense secretary. Dellosa also said the new AFP chief is usually announced a week before assumption. However, he said it would be better if the incoming AFP chief will be known two or three weeks before the turnover so they can discuss programs that need to be continued, he said. Meanwhile, Dellosa said he has not heard of a “non-duty status” in the Armed Forces. President Aquino has said he plans to place PNP chief Nicanor Bartolome (PMA Class 1980) to such status, so a new PNP chief can assume the post soon.

http://malaya.com.ph/index.php/news/nation/17922-dellosa-has-favored-successor-but-keeps-name-close-to-chest