MANILA — There was no irregularity in the sudden change of leadership in the Armed Forces of the Philippines, a military official said Wednesday.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. recently reappointed Gen. Andres Centino as AFP chief of staff, replacing Lt. Gen. Bartolome Bacarro, who only served for 5 months.

"It's not irregular in the sense that it is within the bounds of the law, meaning the President just exercised his authority and power to designate his chief of staff, being the commander of chief in the Armed Forces of the Philippines," AFP spokesperson Col. Medel Aguilar told ANC's "Headstart".

• New law fixes term of office for AFP chief, officials

The 3-year term of AFP chiefs is also a good thing for the military, he added.

"It is good for the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Gen. Centino believes in that also. He knows very well that this is a new law and sometimes there are birth pains that we have to deal with," Aguilar said.

Republic Act 11709 allows Centino to serve a full 3-year term despite reaching the mandatory military retirement age of 56 next February.

• PNP nagdeklara ng full alert para sa AFP change of command, Pista ng Nazareno
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The military earlier belied rumors of a destabilization plot against the Marcos administration following the sudden replacement of its chief of staff.

"There's no need for an investigation inside the Armed Forces of the Philippines because even after or during the change of command ceremony, we didn't even raise our alert level," Aguilar said.

"We know that officers come and go and therefore, we have to follow the change of command always to make sure the organization is united and that we are able to perform our mandate," he continued.

• Faustino resigns as Defense chief, to be replaced by Galvez

Former Defense chief Jose Faustino Jr. this week said he resigned after learning of the military leadership change "only from news and social media reports."

Bu the Palace denied he was kept out of the loop.

Following Faustino's exit, at least 7 senior defense officials also tendered their courtesy resignations.

Defense spokesperson Director Arsenio Andolong has explained the move was procedural and that operations in the agency remained normal.

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