The Commission on Appointments on Wednesday approved the ad interim appointment of Gilberto "Gibo" Teodoro Jr. as secretary of the Department of National Defense.

Prior to his confirmation, the 12-member House contingent of the powerful CA spared Teodoro from questioning as a "courtesy" to the Defense chief who previously worked as Tarlac's 1st district representative.

"The 12-member House of Representatives contingent will no longer ask questions regarding the nominee being a former member of Congress for three consecutive terms in the 11th, 12th, and 13th Congress," said Camarines Sur 2nd District Rep. LRay Villafuerte, the majority leader of the CA.

Villafuerte added that the House contingent "has no doubt regarding the fitness and integrity of the nominee".

He appealed to their counterpart, the Senate to accord the same courtesy to Teodoro.

From the 12-member Senate contingent, only Senator Risa Hontiveros asked questions to Teodoro.

Hontiveros questioned Teodoro about his plans for the DND, now under his watch for the second time. He held the same position under the administration of then-President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo at the age of 43, the youngest ever appointee to the agency.

Responding to the lawmaker's query, Teodoro admitted that there has been a "shift in the evolution" from his first stint in the DND.

He noted that he is now focusing on "straddling the balance between maintaining internal security and with an emphasis definitely given what is happening to the outside environment."
"We are strengthening our defense posture. We are gradually enhancing the capabilities of the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines)," he said.

The Defense chief said he is also working on "leveraging" the country's alliance with other nations to strengthen the country's capability to protect itself from external threats.

By doing so, he noted that he would try to introduce "management solutions to managerial problems, and not military solutions to managerial problems."

"That is the transformation that we are trying to make. We are also deeply restrategizing what we intend to do at least in the next five years in order not only to make the defense department more responsive to the outside and internal environments but also to make more efficient our use of resources, and to use information technology to the highest extent possible," he added.

Teodoro also underscored the importance of strengthening the country's capability to respond to external strength and not just rely on diplomacy.

"[T]he intensity of the need to focus on protecting our sovereignty, our sovereign rights, in the exclusive economic zone and other jurisdictions of the country become more paramount now, as the whole world is in a raise for resources," he said.

"We could not afford to be laidback here. We should be cognizant of it because we can and principally use diplomacy, however, if diplomacy is not backed up by a strong spinal cord, then we will just be stymied by a greater force," he added.

He made the remarks amid the increasing tension between the Philippines and China in the West Philippine Sea.

China claims the vast South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea.

On 12 July 2016, the Philippines won its arbitral case against China in the Permanent Court of Arbitration – a landmark decision that China continues to reject.

Teodoro said the Defense Department wishes the concentrate on not only guarding the islands of the archipelago and its internal waters but also on securing "peaceful, unimpeded, and unobstructed exploitation, and exploration of our sovereign rights over the 200 nautical mile EEZ of the republic and in all areas of the Philippines, to secure our baselines."

Last June, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced Teodoro's appointment as the new DND secretary, replacing Carlito Galvez Jr. who led the agency for five months.

Aside from Teodoro, the CA also approved the promotion of 11 generals and senior officers of the AFP.

Jose Jesus Luntok, Ramon Flores, Dennis Pacis, Nasser Lidasan, Benedict Balaba, Steve Crespillo, Arvin Lagamon, Ivan Papera, Lloyd Cabacuñgan, and Fernando Ventura secured CA's approval for their rank of Brigadier General.

Peter Jempsun de Guzman's rank of Commodore was also approved.