ARMY commander Lt. Gen. Romeo Brawner will be the next chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, replacing Gen. Andres Centino who will be named presidential adviser on the West Philippine Sea, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said yesterday.
The PCO did not say when the new appointments will be effective, and who will be the new Army chief.
The PCO took to social media in announcing the appointments of Brawner and Centino, with a picture of Brawner shaking hands with President Marcos Jr. Also in the photo were Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. and Centino. The photo was later taken down and replaced with a picture of Centino shaking hands with Marcos, with Teodoro Jr. and Brawner in the background
Centino, of the Philippine Military Academy Class 1988, was first named AFP chief in November 2021 during the time of President Duterte. In August last year, Marcos replaced Centino with then AFP Southern Luzon Command commander Lt. Gen. Bartolome Bacarro.
But last January, Marcos re-designated Centino as chief of the military establishment.
Brawner, a member of the PMA Class of 1989, assumed the top Army position in December 2021. He was the commander of the Army’s 4th Infantry Division prior to his appointment as Army chief.
Brawner also served as commandant of the Corps of Cadets at the PMA in Baguio City and led a war against hazing at the military school. He was also commander of the 103rd Brigade that played a role in the fight against members of the Maute Group that laid a siege to Marawi City in 2017. The five-month conflict led to the death of about a thousand terrorists, 168 soldiers and policemen, and 47 civilians.
Brawner also served as commander of the 2nd Special Forces Battalion, chief of staff of the 6th Infantry Division, Armed Forces spokesman, and commander of the Army’s Civil Military Operations Regiment.
In 2013, Brawner was named as one of the Top Outstanding Philippine Soldiers by the Metrobank Foundation and Rotary Club of Makati. In 2019, he was awarded with the Lapu-Lapu Award by then President Duterte for his “invaluable contributions and dedicated leadership” that led to the killing of Maute Group leader Owayda Benito Marohomsar, alias Abu Dar, during a military operation in Lanao del Sur in June 2018.
Under a law that was approved last year, Brawner shall have a three-year term, “unless sooner terminated by the President.” — With Victor Reyes
