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

Before his confirmation, the 12-member House contingent of the powerful CA deferred from questioning Teodoro as a "courtesy" to the Defense chief, who was previously 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 said the House contingent "does not doubt the fitness and integrity of the nominee."

He appealed to their Senate counterparts to accord the same courtesy to Teodoro.

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

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

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

He noted that he is now focusing on "straddling the balance between maintaining internal security with an emphasis on 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 alliances with other nations to strengthen its capability to protect itself from external threats.

"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 said.

Teodoro also underscored the importance of strengthening the country's capability to respond to external threats and not 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 race for resources," he said.

"We cannot afford to be laid back here. We should be cognizant of it because we can and should 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 said.

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.

Protection of Phl sovereignty

Teodoro Jr. stressed the need to upgrade the protection of the country's sovereignty and its sovereign rights in its exclusive economic zone, citing the pressing need to back the use of politics and diplomacy with a strategic defense posture.

Under his helm, Teodoro expressed the DND's desire to modernize the entire defense organization and leverage the country's security partnerships to promote the Philippines' national interests.

Part of his policy direction, he said, is to put a premium on the DND Proper and its civilian bureaus "to better manage resources and services" on top of the continuing modernization of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

"We need managerial solutions to managerial problems, not military solutions to managerial problems," he said.

Stressing the need to set up a trust fund to reform the pension system of the military and uniformed personnel, he said the men and women of the AFP are "cognizant of the consideration given by Congress for their welfare."

"This is a long process because there was a long need to ripen the situation. For now, we need to balance the morale and welfare of our soldiers," he said.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. appointed Teodoro DND chief on 5 June, after Carlito Galvez Jr.'s stint as the defense department's officer-in-charge.

Teodoro, a Bar exam topnotcher in 1989, also assumes the chairmanship of the National Disaster Coordinating Council.

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

Confirmed new brigadier generals were Jose Jesus Luntok, Ramon Flores, Dennis Pacis, Nasser Lidasan, Benedict Balaba, Steve Crespillo, Arvin Lagamon, Ivan Papera, Lloyd Cabacuñgan, and Fernando Ventura. Peter Jempsun de Guzman's promotion to commodore was also approved.