President Rodrigo Duterte has appointed Lt. Gen. Rozzano Briguez as the new commanding general of the Philippine Air Force, Malacañang announced Thursday.
In a letter dated on Wednesday, which was released by the Palace on Thursday, Duterte wrote to Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana to designate Briguez, commander of the Western Command, as the new PAF chief.
Briguez will replace the Lt. Gen. Galileo Kintanar Jr., who is 13 months away from retirement.
According to Lorenzana, Kintanar, who leads the 19,000-strong Air Force, has opted for early retirement. He is scheduled to step down in January 2020.
Briguez graduated the PAF as a class topnotcher from the PAF Flying School in 1988.
He has held various positions in the Air Force before his stint as the commander of the country’s western frontier.
He became PAF’s Chief of Air Staff, Commandant of Cadets in the Philippine Military Academy, Deputy Wing Commander of the 250th Presidential Airlift Wing, Assistant Chief of Air Staff for Operations, Assistant Chief of Air Staff for Education and Training, and Commander of the Tactical Operations Group 11.
