President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday announced the promotion of Major General Rolando Joselito Bautista, the commanding general of the Philippine Army to a three-star rank Tuesday, as the race to be next military chief-of-staff tightens with the looming retirement of Armed Forces chief Gen. Eduardo Año.
Introducing officials who were with him as he declared the liberation of Marawi, Duterte, at that moment, announced that his former Presidential Security Group chief had been raised to a three-star rank or Lieutenant General—barely a week after naming him as Philippine Army chief.
Bautista, a former commander of the Army’s 1st Infantry Division and Joint Task Force Marawi replaced Lieutenant General Glorioso Miranda who will end his military career on Oct. 8, after 38 years in service.
Bautista, the 59th Army chief, is a member of the Philippine Military Academy Sandiwa Class of 1985.
Bautista’s promotion places him as one of the possible contenders to the much-coveted chief-of-staff post, expected to be vacated by Año once he reaches the mandatory retirement age of 56 on Oct. 26.
Earlier, Duterte said that he will allow the Board of Generals to decide on their recommendations on who would be the next AFP chief.
“Well, lahat naman ‘yan sila qualified eh. They have reached the stage of… general talaga sila. Si… papalit kay Año,” Duterte said.
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said that there were “three or four names” whom he might recommend to Duterte, but these depends on the Board of Generals.
Before his appointment as the commander of the 1st Infantry Division, Bautista was the commander of Joint Task Force Gensan in 2013 and 104th Brigade, 1ID in 2014.
He also held the post of Presidential Security Group commander in 2016.