MANILA — Department of National Defense (DND) officer-in-charge Jose Faustino Jr. has named his picks for the agency's undersecretary positions.

Faustino, a former military chief, selected four retired Army generals to become DND undersecretaries, subject to the approval of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

They are the following:

• retired Brig. Gen. Ignacio Madriaga - recommended as the undersecretary for strategic assessment and planning
• retired Maj. Gen. Pio Diñoso III - recommended as the undersecretary for acquisition and resource management
• retired Lt. Gen. Franco Nemesio Gacal - recommended as the undersecretary for civil, veterans, and reserve affairs
• retired Maj. Gen. Angelito De Leon - recommended as the undersecretary for capability assessment and development

Madriaga, Diñoso, and Gacal were Faustino's classmates at the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) “Maringal” Class of 1988.

A DND official who spoke on the condition of anonymity defended Faustino’s decision to pick his former classmates at the PMA, saying, "I think it’s more of a question of trust and confidence. He needs people who he trusts and knows well."

EXPERIENCE

Madriaga, who retired from military service in July 2020, last served in the military as chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Office of the Strategic Studies and Strategy Management, while Diñoso’s last position in the military was commander of the 8th Infantry Division. He retired from the service in October 2021.

Gacal, meantime, was last assigned as the AFP’s inspector general. He retired from the military in December 2021 upon reaching the retirement age of 56.

De Leon, who's from another PMA batch, last served in the military as commander of the Army’s 7th Infantry Division. He retired from the service in October 2017.

He then served as DND assistant secretary for plans and programs during the time of Faustino’s predecessor, Delfin Lorenzana.

Lorenzana is now the chairperson of the Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA).

• Ex-defense chief Lorenzana is new BCDA chief

OTHER PICKS

Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Ferdinand Cartujano, also a PMA classmate of Faustino, was recommended to be the president of the National Defense College of the Philippines.

Cartujano retired from the Armed Forces in June. He was last appointed as superintendent of the PMA.

Faustino also appointed retired Army Lt. Gen. Reynaldo Mapagu, a former Army chief and AFP vice chief, to be the administrator of the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO), with the rank of undersecretary.

Mapagu served as DND undersecretary for civil, veterans, and reserve affairs under Lorenzana.

Retired Army Lt. Gen. Raymundo Ferrer, meanwhile, was recommended to become administrator of the Office of Civil Defense (OCD). He will also have the rank of undersecretary.

Ferrer was a former commander of the AFP Western Mindanao Command.

Faustino said his recommended officials are "highly qualified for their respective positions in light of their technical expertise, competence, and strong leadership qualities which are vital and necessary in the successful pursuit of the mandate of the department."

In his press conference last July 5, Marcos said he gave his Cabinet officials "a relatively free hand in deciding" who they want to hire and how they want to re-structure their departments.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

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