President Benigno S. Aquino III formally appointed on Friday
Lt. Gen. Hernando Delfin Carmelo A. Iriberri as the 46th Chief of Staff of the
120,000-strong Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
Iriberri, the former commanding general of the Philippine
Army, will replace outgoing AFP chief Gen. Gregorio Pio P. Catapang Jr. who
will reach the military retirement age of 56 on Saturday.
The President spearheaded the change of command ceremony at
the Tejeros Hall of Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon
City
In his speech, President Aquino urged the new AFP chief of
staff to continue the good leadership of Catapang and other former chiefs of
staff.
”Lt. Gen. Iriberri, my challenge to you now: Continue the
good deeds that Gen. Catapang and his predecessors have started and improved
further the quality of services of our soldiers,” President Aquino said.
The Commander-in-Chief also ordered Iriberri to make sure
that the country will have a clean and peaceful elections in May 2016.
”In this way, you can pay back the support and care given to
us by our Filipino nation, our bosses,” the President said.
In his acceptance remarks, Iriberri thanked President Aquino
for his all-out support for the modernization program of the AFP.
”In a very long time, it is only now that our soldiers are
able to use new military equipment. We should pay this back with our
honest-to-goodness service to our nation,” Iriberri said.
The new AFP chief of staff also thanked the President and as
well as Department of National Defense (DND) for the trust and confidence given
to him.
For his part, Catapang also expressed appreciations to
President Aquino for pursuing "daang matuwid" (straight path) policy,
particularly in the AFP, for the last five years.
”We can now look at the AFP with the right purpose and with
the clear direction and with respect to human rights,” Catapang said.
The President commended Catapang for being part of his
administration to leave a peaceful and safe Philippines
”Now, we honored an individual who gave his heart and mind
to contribute to this goal. That is General Pio Catapang Jr.,” the President
said.
President Aquino cited Catapang for performing
wholeheartedly his duties and responsibilities which resulted to a long list of
accomplishments of the AFP for the last 12 months.
”Although he will hang is uniform and saber, his style of
leadership and concerns for our people and soldiers will remind us that under
daang matuwid, our soldiers are disciplined, not abusive but accurate,”
President Aquino said.
Some of Catapang’s accomplishments, the President said,
include implementation of Internal Peace and Security Plan Bayanihan, the
so-called ‘The Greatest Escape” where Filipino peacekeepers have rescued at
Golan Heights, maintained good relationship between AFP and national police
during Mamasapano incident, and the killing of high-valued Basit Usman, Mohamad
Ali Tambako, Abdulgani Esmael Pagao, and New People’s Army (NPA) Kumander
Parago.
Under Catapang's leadership, the AFP has been given Silver
Trailblazer Award by the Solidarity in Asia
for the implementation of the Performance Governance System.
”This award proved that we implement reforms in the military
not only through words but by action,” the President said.
Catapang’s replacement is a member of the Philippine
Military Academy (PMA) Class of 1983.
Iriberri was named Commanding General of the Philippine Army
in February 2014 before he was designated as the new Chief of Staff of the AFP.
He is set to retire on April 22, 2016.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=781378
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