MANILA - The former head of the Presidential Security Group has been named commanding general of the Philippine Army, the largest of the Armed Forces' 3 major services, a military spokesman said Wednesday.

Major General Rolando Bautista will replace Lieutenant General Glorioso Miranda, who will retire on Sunday, said Colonel Edgard Arevalo, spokesman of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Aside from leading President Rodrigo Duterte's security, Bautista also headed Joint Task Force Marawi, which is at the forefront of the fight against the Islamic State-inspired Maute group in the south.

Bautista is a member of the Philippine Military Academy's Sandiwa Class of 1985.