DND, Galvez express support for new Defense chief Teodoro
MANILA, Philippines (Update 2, 6:10 p.m.) — The Department of National Defense has welcomed the return of Gilberto Teodoro as its secretary, as he takes on the post held by Defense Undersecretary Carlito Galvez Jr. in a “caretaker” capacity since January this year.
Galvez thanked President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. for giving him the opportunity to lead the department and extended gratitude to the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the civilian bureaus for their support while he was defense officer-in-charge.
The Palace on Monday night announced the appointment of Teodoro, which marks his return at the helm of the department, a portfolio he also held during the Arroyo administration.
Teodoro, who ran for senator in 2022, could not be appointed to a government position until at least a year after election day.
“We have achieved great strides in our priority programs on internal security, territorial defense, disaster preparedness, and the continued development of the defense organization,” Galvez said.
“Rest assured that the DND has my unequivocal support as we all work together in the pursuit of our vision of a peaceful, stable, and prosperous Philippines."
Galvez's tenure as acting head of the defense department was marked by greater engagement with treaty ally the United States, including the holding of the largest-yet Balikatan exercises with American and Australian troops.
The Philippine military has also been holding smaller exercises with partners like Australia, Japan, France and Indonesia.
Teodoro, who was also defense secretary during the Arroyo administration, will be taking over a department facing reforms to the pension system for military and uniformed personnel that economic managers have said is no longer sustainable.
National Security Adviser Eduardo Año said Teodoro’s “wealth of experience” would help the country in gaining “total victory” against the communist insurgency and in defending territorial integrity in the West Philippine Sea.
Teodoro takes on the portfolio as the country shifts its priorities to focus on territorial defense.“We look forward to working closely with him face the ever changing threats to our national security,” Año, chief of the military Intelligence Service during the Arroyo administration, said.
Teodoro will also be overseeing modernization of the military, which is going into Horizon 3 — a phase that includes plans to buy missile systems, multi-role fighters and submarines.
Rule of law, multilateralism
Among Galvez's last engagements as defense OIC was at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore over the weekend, where he stressed the need to uphold international law — particularly in the West Philippine Sea — and for multilateralism through avenues like the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
He said ASEAN offers “a neutral ground where all table their interests in their region.”
“It is also in this light that the Philippines continues to seek a substantive ASEAN-China Code of Conduct in the South China Sea through a process that perseveres, despite the pressures of destabilizing actions and incidents of intimidation,” Galvez also said.
- Latest
- Trending
