Philippine defense chief quits in latest security shakeup

MANILA, Philippines — The acting Philippine defense chief has resigned, officials said Monday, in the latest in a series of top-level changes in the country’s security establishment that has sparked speculation of renewed military unrest.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. accepted “with deep regret” the resignation of defense officer-in-charge Jose Faustino Jr. The president offered the top defense post to Carlito Galvez Jr., another retired general who has been involved in peace talks with insurgent groups, presidential spokesperson Cheloy Garafil said.

Galvez accepted the offer, Garafil said, without providing other details, including why Faustino, a former military chief of staff, decided to resign.

Marcos on Saturday cut short the term of military chief of staff Lt. Gen. Bartolome Bacarro, whom he had appointed five months ago, and replaced him with a retiring general without explaining the surprise move.

Faustino is a supporter of Bacarro and the two were classmates at the Philippine Military Academy. Bacarro received the highest military award for combat bravery as a young Army officer, and his three-year term was supposed to continue until August 2025.

The appointment of military chiefs is a sensitive issue in the country. The military has a history of restiveness, failed coup attempts and corruption scandals, and has faced accusations of human rights violations. Efforts have been made for years to instill professionalism in the military and insulate it from the country’s traditionally chaotic and corruption-tainted politics.

Lt. Gen. Andres Centino, a military chief of staff whom Bacarro replaced in August last year, was reinstated by Marcos to the top post of the 144,000-strong armed forces. Centino, who was due to retire next month, was chosen over a dozen senior generals and will have a fresh three-year term.

A new law that took effect last year fixed the term of the military chief of staff to three years to allow the top general more time to initiate reforms and press a yearslong campaign to modernize the underfunded military, which faces Muslim and communist insurgencies as well as increasingly aggressive actions by China in the disputed South China Sea, where the Philippines — among other nations — claims contested islands, islets and reefs.

Bacarro’s sudden removal sparked speculation of renewed military restiveness after the national police went on alert over the weekend. But national police spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo denied the move was linked to any military restiveness and said personnel were placed on “heightened alert” mainly to secure an annual religious gathering in Manila.

In a turnover ceremony at the main military camp in the capital on Saturday, Bacarro handed a saber symbolizing the military’s leadership to Centino. Neither Marcos nor Faustino attended the ceremony.

Bacarro’s removal followed a decision by the national police chief, Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr., to tender his resignation on Thursday after Marcos’s interior secretary appealed to nearly 1,000 police generals and colonels to quit to allow a committee to investigate top officials involved in illegal drugs.

Azurin asked top police officials to support Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos’ drastic move. But he said some generals opposed the call for them to resign within the month because they were not facing any criminal lawsuits and had not been linked to the drug trade.

菲律宾马尼拉——官员们周一表示，菲律宾代理国防部长已经辞职。这是该国安全机构一系列高层人事变动中的最新一起，引发了人们对军方再次动荡的猜测。

费迪南德·马科斯总统“深感遗憾”地接受了国防部长何塞·福斯蒂诺的辞呈。总统发言人切洛伊·加拉菲尔表示，总统已向另一位参与与叛乱组织进行和平谈判的退役将军卡利托·加尔维斯提供了国防部长一职。

加拉菲尔表示，加尔维斯接受了这一提议，但没有提供其他细节，包括前军事参谋长福斯蒂诺为何决定辞职。

马科斯周六提前终止了五个月前任命的陆军参谋长巴托洛梅·巴卡罗中将的任期，并用一名即将退休的将军取代​​了他，但没有解释这一出人意料的举动。

福斯蒂诺是巴卡罗的支持者，两人曾是菲律宾军事学院的同学。巴卡罗作为一名年轻的陆军军官，因战斗英勇而荣获最高军事奖章，他的三年任期原定于2025年8月结束。

在该国，任命军方首脑是一个敏感问题。军方历史上曾多次发生动乱、未遂政变和腐败丑闻，并面临侵犯人权的指控。多年来，政府一直致力于提升军队的专业化水平，并使其免受该国传统混乱且腐败的政治环境的影响。

去年8月被巴卡罗取代的陆军参谋长安德烈斯·森蒂诺中将，被马科斯重新任命为拥有14.4万兵力的武装部队最高指挥官。森蒂诺原定于下个月退休，此次从十几位高级将领中脱颖而出，将开启新的三年任期。

去年生效的一项新法律将军事参谋长的任期固定为三年，以便让这位最高将领有更多时间启动改革，并推进一项长达数年的军队现代化运动。这支资金不足的军队面临着穆斯林和共产主义叛乱，以及中国在有争议的南海日益咄咄逼人的行动。菲律宾和其他一些国家声称对南海的岛屿、小岛和礁石拥有主权。

巴卡罗的突然离职引发了人们对军方再次动荡的猜测，此前国家警察周末曾进入戒备状态。但国家警察发言人让·法哈多上校否认此举与任何军方动荡有关，并表示人员进入“高度戒备”状态主要是为了确保在马尼拉举行的年度宗教集会的安全。

周六在首都主要军营举行的交接仪式上，巴卡罗将象征军方领导权的佩剑交给了森蒂诺。马科斯和福斯蒂诺均未出席仪式。

在马科斯的内政部长呼吁近 1000 名警察将军和上校辞职，以便一个委员会调查涉嫌非法毒品的高级官员之后，国家警察总长罗多尔福·阿祖林将军于周四递交了辞呈。巴卡罗随后被免职。

阿祖林要求高级警官支持内政部长本胡尔·阿巴洛斯的这项激进举措。但他表示，一些将军反对在一个月内辞职，因为他们没有面临任何刑事诉讼，也没有与毒品交易有任何关联。