Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has named Army chief Lt. – Gen. Cirilito Sobejana as the new Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said Wednesday.
Roque expressed confidence that Sobejana “will continue to modernise our military and undertake reform initiatives to make the AFP truly professional in its mandate as the protector of the people and the state.’’
Sobejana was awarded the Medal of Valor, the highest military award, for leading troops in a deadly clash with around 150 Abu Sayyaf terrorists in the southern Philippine Basilan province in 1995.
Sobejana is the eighth military chief under Duterte.
He will replace Gen. Gilbert Gapay, who will retire on Feb. 4, after serving for six months.
Sobejana served as commander of the AFP Western Mindanao Command before he was appointed as chief of the Philippine Army in 2020.
The chief of staff, who is a member of the Philippine Military Academy Class 1987, will lead the AFP until he retires in July 31, when he reaches the mandatory retirement age of 56.
