FIVE three-star generals and flag officers are due to retire from the service this year, including the chiefs of the Philippine Air Force and Philippine Navy.

The first who will bow out of the service is Lt. Gen. Charlton Sean Gaerlan, AFP deputy chief of staff, the military’s No. 3 man. He is set to reach the retirement age of 57 on October 16.

Next is Lt. Gen. William Gonzales, commander of the AFP Western Mindanao Command, who is reaching the retirement age on November 23.

The following day, Navy chief Vice Adm. Toribio Adaci will retire when he completes the two-year tour of duty, provided by law, for commanders of major services (Navy, Air Force, and Army) and to the superintendent of the Philippine Military Academy.

Air Force chief Lt. Gen. Stephen Parreño will retire on December 20, under the same circumstance as Adaci.

Vice Adm. Alberto Carlos, who remains on floating status, will bow out of the service on December 31 when he reaches 57.

Carlos was removed as commander of the AFP Western Command last May amid allegations he reached a “new model” agreement with a Chinese diplomat without the approval of higher authorities.

Carlos has denied entering into the agreement which reportedly seeks to manage tension between the Philippines and China in connection with the territorial dispute in the West Philippine Sea.

Gaerlan, Adaci, Gonzales and Carlos are classmates of AFP chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr at the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Class of 1989. Parreno is a member of Class 1991.

Brawner, in a phone interview, said there is an existing mechanism in the Armed Forces to find replacement for the retiring officers.

“At the GHQ (general headquarters) level, we have a Board of Generals (BOG),” Brawner.

The board deliberates assignments to key military positions, for approval of the President, the military’s commander-in-chief.

“In fact, we are already conducting deliberations to find their replacement, so that there will be continuity,” added Brawner, referring to the BOG.

Brawner is the chairman of the Board of Generals. Its members are the AFP vice chief of staff, the AFP deputy chief and the chiefs of the Army, Navy and Air Force.