PRESIDENT Marcos Jr. has designated the military’s operations chief as the AFP’s deputy chief of staff, the third-highest post in the military.
Lt. Gen. Jimmy Larida assumed his new post last Tuesday in rites presided over by AFP chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. at the AFP general headquarters at Camp Aguinaldo.
During the ceremony, Larida, a Marine general and a member of the Philippine Military Academy class of 1991, was promoted to lieutenant general, from major general.
Before his designation, Larida was the AFP deputy chief of staff for operations, a post he assumed last May. Before that, he was the commander of the Joint Task Force National Capital Region.
Larida succeeded Lt. Gen. Augustine Malinit, the AFP’s Inspector General who held the post of AFP Deputy Chief of Staff in concurrent and acting capacity last month after the retirement of Lt. Gen. Charlton Sean Gaerlan.
“I am confident that Lt. Gen Larida will leverage his extensive experience to propel the AFP towards greater achievement,” Brawner said during the ceremony.
“Your appointment reflects your outstanding record of service, strategic mindset, and the confidence placed in you by the entire Armed Forces,” Brawner told Larida.
Larida, a holder of a master’s degree in military studies from the US Marine Corps University in Virginia, USA, has held other key positions in the Armed Forces – as deputy commandant of the Philippine Marine Corps, commander of the 3rd Marine Brigade, commander of the Jolo Internal Defense Force, and chief of staff of the Joint Task Force Comet.
The military has yet to announce a replacement for Larida as AFP deputy chief of staff for operations.