MANILA, Feb. 19 (PNA) – The bicameral Commission on Appointments on Wednesday confirmed the ad interim re-appointments of 18 generals and senior officers in the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
CA committee on national defense chairman Rep. Antonio Del Rosario moved to the plenary the confirmation of the 18 military officers, including Raul Ubando, whose promotion to the grade of Commodore has been confirmed despite being on official mission in Malaysia.
”The committee on national defense went through the individual records of the said military officers now present and the committee found them fit and qualified to the ranks that they have been promoted to,” Del Rosario said.
Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) chief Brig. Gen. Eduardo Ano and Brig. Gen. Aurelio Baladad were among the generals recommended for confirmation.
Ano, one of the respondents in the case involving the abduction of activist Jonas Burgos, and Baladad, who was linked in the arrest and tortures of the so-called “Morong 43,” have been promoted to major general.
CA member Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, a former Navy officer, said the panel recommended the confirmation of the two military officers due to “the absence of evidence.”
Other confirmed military officers include Commodore Bayani Gaerlan, Brig. Gen. Edmundo Pangilinan, Brig. Gen. Roger Salvador, Lt. Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr., Rear Admiral Jose Renan Suarez, Maj. Gen. Jet Velarmino, Maj. Gen. Virgilio Hernandez, and Brig. Gen. Gerardo Barrientos Jr.
The powerful commission also confirmed Brig. Gen. Vic Castro, Brig. Gen. Manuel Gonzales, Brig. Gen. Alex Capina, Col. Hilario Frigillana of the Philippine Air Force (reservist), Col. Patrick de Leon of Medical Corps (reservist), Read Admiral Caesar Taccad, and Brig. Gen. Ricardo Jalad. (source: Philippine News Agency)