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Military chief retires at 56 sans replacement
Outgoing AFP chief-of-staff Gen. Eduardo Año said. (Photo: Armed Forces of the Philippines/ Facebook)
Just after the conclusion of the 154-day Marawi siege, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) will now bid goodbye to its Chief of Staff General Eduardo Año as he retires on Thursday.
As Año will celebrate his 56th birthday on October 26, the outgoing Chief of Staff is now set to end his 38 years of military service.
However, AFP Spokesperson Major General Restituto Padilla said that no one is yet to take the position.
“Sa turn-over wala pang final word kung sino. Wala pang lumalabas (There is still no final word for the turn-over. There is no news yet),” he said.
Last month, the outgoing Chief of Staff has mentioned that he hopes to end the battle for Marawi before his retirement.
“Matatapos ‘yan bago ako mag-retire. Nasa final phase na tayo, finishing touches kaya nga medyo matindi ‘yung labanan dun (This will be done before I retire. We are already in the final phase, just the finishing touches this is why the battle there is heavy),” he told reporters before.
With the battle for the war-torn city ending in five months, Año got his wish three days before his mandatory retirement.
On August, President Rodrigo Duterte opened that after Año’s retirement, he still needs his services.
“Año would be under me. I would make him a senior aide of the Office of the President or whatever,” Duterte told reporters.
He further said that he could also appoint the outgoing Chief of Staff as undersecretary if that is ‘legally feasible.’
The President has also shown an interest on appointing Año as the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary. However, the law prohibits a military retiree from assuming the post.
“Año has a mission, and I said to him to finish the Marawi job first and I want him in DILG,” Duterte said.
