DEFENSE Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana on Thursday recommended to lower the ratio of generals to members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, saying this would be “healthier for the organization.”
“As it stands today, by virtue of passed legislation, the percentage is .125 and in fact we have already exceeded that percentage because as of today, we have 190 generals in the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) when it should have been only 170 as per the percentage,” the retired Philippine Army general told a Senate national defense committee hearing.
The AFP — composed of the Army, Navy and Air Force — currently has 143,000 members.
He suggested to change the law to one general per 1,000 members.
“I believe, personally, that we have too many generals in the armed forces.”
The Senate committee is tackling measures prescribing fixed terms for the chief-of-staff and other key officers of the armed forces, bumping up the compulsory retirement age of 56, and reforming the pension system for military and uniformed personnel. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas