Madrigal hurdles CA

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) interim Chief of Staff Benjamin Madrigal Jr. on Wednesday hurdled with flying colors the Commission on Appointments (CA) evaluation that confirmed his ad interim appointment which took effect last month.

Madrigal — who was chosen by President Rodrigo Duterte to replace Gen. Carlito Galvez Jr. after reaching mandatory retirement last 12 December — readily answered the panel’s questions regarding the country’s security and other matters.

Members of the CA-Committee on National Defense — led by Rep. Seth Frederick Jalosjos — took turns in questioning Madrigal, including the recent deadly explosions in Mindanao that saw 21 people killed while leaving almost a hundred injured.

The AFP chief of staff designate revealed the development of the ongoing investigations on the twin explosions in a cathedral in Jolo last Sunday and the recent Zamboanga City mosque grenade attack.

He was also asked by Sen. Gringo Honasan about his plans and programs for the country’s military with his remaining eight months in office as he is set to reach the mandatory retirement age of 56 in September.

After a few more questions, Madrigal’s rank as four-star general was confirmed, as no one objected to the confirmation with Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri seconding the motion of the confirmation of Madrigal.

Prior to leading the AFP, Madrigal had held key positions in the military, including chief of the Davao-based Eastern Mindanao Command from November 2017 to December 2018 and was also the former commander of the Southern Luzon Command in Lucena City, 701st Infantry Brigade in Mati, Davao Oriental, and 4th Infantry Division in Cagayan de Oro.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson, on the other hand, had questioned the date of promotion of Lt. Gen. Noel Clement as three-star general, noting that the latter’s ad interim appointment was dated 8 January 2019 — three days after he turned 55.

Lacson stressed that under the law, any military officer is disqualified from promotion to the next higher rank if he has less than one year left in the service and in the case of Clement, he will be reaching the mandatory retirement age of 56 on 5 January 2020.

“It’s not about him, it’s about policy…this is not to raise objection or opposition to the ad interim appointment of Lieutenant General Clement,” stressed Lacson, a former police general.

Nevertheless, the panel went on to confirm Clement and Brig. Gen. Virgilio Bartolome but told the AFP that it will be the last time they will accommodate, for humanitarian reason, such situation.

The CA also confirmed the ad interim appointments of seven diplomats of the Department of Foreign Affairs, namely, Leah Basinang-Ruiz, Alex Chua, Ma. Theresa De Vega, Jesus Domingo, Leo Lim and Raul Hernandez as ambassadors, and Henry Bensurto Jr. as chief of mission.