Congress ratifies bill to amend AFP officers’ fixed term law
MANILA, Philippines — The Senate and the House of Representatives on Wednesday ratified the proposed measure amending the fixed term of military officers.
The bill sets the retirement age of all military officers and personnel at 57, except for the Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff who will retire upon completion of a tour of duty or upon the relief of the President.
Both chambers of Congress greenlighted the measure as outlined in the bicameral conference committee report submitted on Tuesday, which consolidated differences between Senate Bill No. 1849 and House Bill No. 6517.
The measure is seen as a panacea to the growing discontent among members of the AFP, which Defense Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said in January is a result of the “unintended consequences” of the retirement law that some officers disagree with.
The bicameral conference committee used the Senate version as a working draft, according to Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, chairperson of the Senate Committee on National Defense and Security and head of the upper chamber's conferees.
Under the law, fixed terms of AFP personnel will be limited to the following tenured officers:
- General – three years
- Lieutenant General/Vice Admiral – three years
- Major General/Rear Admiral – three years
- Brigadier General/Commodore – increased to five years from three years
- Colonel/Captain – increased to 10 years from eight years
- The President may lengthen the tenure-in-grade of officers in grades of captain, major and lieutenant colonel up to 2 promotional cycles.
The House version of the bill was approved in December last year, while the Senate bill passed its third reading on March 6.
With the approval of Congress, the measure is now up for the President’s signature. — Cristina Chi
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