More high-ranking officials of the Department of National Defense (DND) have tendered their resignations after its officer-in-charge Jose Faustino Jr. stepped down from his post last week.

DND spokesperson Arsenio Andolong said that about seven to nine officials with ranks assistant secretary to undersecretary are expected to submit their resignation because their positions are coterminous with Faustino.

"We already went into the transition process and as is normal and procedural in the government, all of the coterminous appointees tendered their courtesy resignations [on Monday]," he said.

While the DND has yet to publicize the names of the resigning officials, DZRH Online checked on the website of the defense department, it currently has three undersecretaries and seven assistant secretaries.

Assistant Secretaries Pablo Lorenzo (plans and programs); Henry Robinson Jr. (strategic assessment and international affairs); Antonio Bautista (human resource); Gavin Edjawan (financial management); Joselito Ramos (logistics, acquisitions, and self-reliant defense posture and OIC of Office of Undersecretary for Acquisition and Resource Management); Emmanuel Anthony Ramos (real estate and installations); and lawyer Erik Lawrence Dy (chief of the legal and legislative affairs).

Andolong said DND operations continue to be normal and that they were waiting for newly appointed Defense Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. to take office.

"Tuluy-tuloy pa rin ang operations. You’ll see here, everything is still running. Nagtataka nga kami na noong Saturday why that bit of news surfaced pero normal naman kami dito at hindi naapektuhan," he said.

"With utmost respect, I submitted my irrevocable letter of resignation to the President, His Excellency Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., on Friday, January 6, 2023, after learning only from news and social media reports that an oath office of the new Chief of Staff, AFP had taken place at Malacañang,” he said in a statement.