DND announces impending leadership change at AFP

The Department of National Defense announced Tuesday the impending changes in the leadership of the Armed Forces of the Philippines which would affect seven senior officers. The movement comes at a time when the military has renewed offensives against Abu Sayyaf bandits and other suspected militants in Mindanao which has claimed the lives of over 50 soldiers since July 10. In the DND statement, current Armed Forces Southern Luzon Command chief Lt. Gen. Alexander Yano was named as the successor of Philippine Army commander Lt. Gen. Romeo Tolentino who is retiring on Friday. A member of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) class of 1976, Yano was once the president of the general court martial trying 28 Army and Marine officers linked to the botched Feb. 24, 2006 coup. Over at the Philippine Marine Corps, the incoming commandant is Maj. Gen. Ben Mohammad Dolorfino, replacing Maj. Gen. Nelson Allaga. Allaga will replace Armed Forces Western Mindanao Command chief Lt. Gen. Eugenio Cedo who is retiring September 6. Dolorfino’s post as commander of the AFP National Capital Region Command (NCRCom) is 2nd Infantry Division chief Maj. Gen. Fernando Mesa. Replacing Yano as Solcom chief is Lt. Gen. Rodolfo Obaniana, presently the commander of the Armed Forces Eastern Mindanao Command. The new Eastmincom chief is Lt. Gen. Cardozo Luna, the outgoing AFP Central Command chief. Luna’s post will be assumed by Maj. Gen. Victor Ibrado, currently the Army Special Operations Command (Socom) commander. The DND statement, however, did not mention who would take over Mesa’s position as 2ND ID commander once he takes over Dolorfino’s post. - GMANews.TV