General Romeo Brawner Jr. was officially sworn in as the new chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Friday, with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. officiating at the ceremony in Camp Aguinaldo.
Brawner will command over 150,000 troops, marines, sailors, and airmen, as well as 70,000 Citizen Armed Force Geographical Unit units and over one million reservists.
He assured Marcos of his devotion and commitment to the Constitution and the Filipino people in his speech.
His primary interests include the unity of both foreign and domestic forces, the "normalization" of processes in the Bangsamoro region, particularly the disarming and reintegration of former MILF combatants, and internal security operations to combat local and communist terrorist groups.
Brawner also promised to improve territorial defense by modernizing troops, equipment, facilities, and systems, transforming the AFP into a "lethal and competent fighting force.
He stated that this includes building cyberwarfare capabilities and strengthening international ties. Brawner also promised to include young people in nation-building through the "relevant conduct" of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC).
Marcos asked Brawner in his message to "recalibrate our internal security operation" in order to provide public services in rural and disadvantaged places.
The commander-in-chief stated that his administration is committed to upgrading the AFP in order to boost its foreign capacity. President Marcos Jr.'s third AFP chief is Brawner.
He took over for Gen. Andres Centino, who was named the President's West Philippine Sea adviser.
