Outgoing AFP chief leaves with ‘grateful heart, fulfilled soul’

Madrigal, 56, steps down from his post due to retirement. (File Photo: Armed Forces of the Philippines/Facebook)

MANILA — Outgoing Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief-of-staff, Gen. Benjamin Madrigal Jr. on Monday said he would bow out of service with a “grateful heart and fulfilled soul”.

“To all of you, our personnel, the very heart of our institution, I will always cherish the dedication, cooperation, and professionalism you have showed during my time at the helm of the AFP. You’ve made my work easier and more fulfilling and for that, I thank you all,” he said in his last flag-raising ceremony at the AFP headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.

Madrigal, 56, steps down from his post due to retirement.

“If you have spent your whole life and dedicated your time in the service, it will be difficult to let go. But I am confident that I have given the service, everything that I am and everything that I can and this somehow makes the parting easier,” he said.

Lt. Gen. Noel Clement, who heads the AFP Central Command, will take over his post during a change-of-command and retirement ceremony Tuesday.

Madrigal is a member of the Philippine Military Academy Class of 1985. Clement also belongs to the same class.

Prior to his appointment as AFP chief on December 11, 2018, Madrigal commanded the Eastern Mindanao Command, Southern Luzon Command, the 4th Infantry Division, the 701st Infantry Brigade, and the 26th Infantry Battalion.

Madrigal’s previous posts include chief of staff of the Philippine Army; chief of War Plans in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans J5; Secretary Joint Staff; and chief of the Army Management and Fiscal Office.