Deputy Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines

The Deputy Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines
Emblem of the Armed Forces of the Philippines
Incumbent Lieutenant General Charlton Sean Gaerlan PN(M) since March 28, 2023
Armed Forces of the Philippines Department of National Defense
Style	TDC
Type	Military Leadership
Abbreviation	TDCSAFP
Member of	AFP Board of General AFP Joint Staff
Reports to	Secretary of National Defense (SND) Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (CSAFP)
Residence	Camp General Emilio Aguinaldo, Quezon City, Philippines
Seat	Camp General Emilio Aguinaldo, Quezon City, Philippines
Nominator	AFP Board of Generals
Appointer	President of the Republic of the Philippines
Term length	Mandatory Retirement Age at 57
Formation	September 28, 1899

The Deputy Chief of Staff is a 3-star General or Admiral that is considered as the third highest ranking position in the Armed Forces of the Philippines. The Deputy Chief of Staff assist both Chief of Staff and Vice Chief of Staff in performing their respective functions in providing intelligence, operational, and logistical reports.^[1]He or She is appointed by the President of the Philippines upon the confirmation by the Commission on Appointments.^[2]

The Deputy Chief of Staff also serves as the Director of the Joint Staffs, where they command the Joint Staff composing of the following staffs for various posts: the Deputy Chief of Staff Personnel J1, Deputy Chief of Staff Intelligence J2, Deputy Chief of Staff Operations J3, Deputy Chief of Staff Logistics J4, Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans, J5, Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications, Electronics and Information Systems, J6, Deputy Chief of Staff for Civil-Military Operations, J7, Deputy Chief of Staff for Education, Training and Doctrine, J8, Deputy Chief of Staff for Retirees and Reservists Affairs, J9, and the Deputy Chief of Staff for Financial Management, J10.

Background[edit]

Prior to Filipino-American War European trained General Antonio Luna was selected by President Emilio Aguinaldo as Assistant Secretary of War and Commanding General of Republican Army. He organized his staff and selected Visayas born Brigadier General Venancio Concepcion as Chief of General Staff to coordination all the functions of the staffs.^[3] After the war was lost no Filipino Army exists until 1935 when Philippine Commonwealth Army was organized in preparation for its independence in 10 years period. Initial President Manuel Quezon selected Major. Paulino Santos as Chief of Staff but he cannot remove him from his current position as Director of Bureau of Prisons due to the impending transfer of Bilibid Prison out of City of Manila and the undergoing organization of Iwahig and Davao Penal Colonies. Delos Reyes was appointed as acting until Santos is available but Quezon appointed Santos as Deputy Chief of Staff although he is not doing the function but he wanted him to report to Headquarters of the Army.

After World War II Brigadier General Macario Peralta Jr., war hero and veteran was appointed by President Manuel Roxas to be The Deputy Chief of Staff. He is the first on the post on the modern Philippine Armed Forces.^[4]

On June 19, 2020, under the DND Order no. 174, the title of Chief of Staff was renamed as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, while the Vice-Chief of Staff as vice-chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and The Deputy Chief of Staff as Chief of the Joint Staff. Although the usage of these titles were deferred.^[5]

Organization and term limit[edit]

Under the organization of the AFP, The Deputy Chief of Staff holds a rank of 3-star general officer rank, either Lieutenant General or Vice Admiral. The Deputy Chief of Staff is nominated by the President of the Philippines upon the recommendation of the AFP Board of Generals. The appointee will also be required to be subject to hearings under the Commission on Appointments in order formally approved in their positions. Under the terms of the Republic Act No. 11939, The Deputy Chief of Staff has no fixed term length and is subject to mandatory military retirement once they reach the age of 57. The Deputy Chief of Staff is also eligible to be appointed as the AFP Chief of Staff upon the pleasure the President of the Philippines.^[6]

Officeholders[edit]

The following list shows the officeholders of The Deputy Chief of Staff of the AFP:

No.	portrait	Deputy Chief of Staff	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Service Branch	Ref.
1		Concepcion, VenancioHeneral de Division Venancio Concepcion (March 20, 1843–June 12, 1912) Chief of General Staff	September 28, 1898	June 10, 1899	255 days	Philippine Revolutionary Army	[7]
2		Santos, PaulinoBrigadier General Paulino Santos (1890–1945) Was not doing his function as was still work important projects with Bureau of Prisons but he was appointed so he will keep reporting to Camp Murphy	December 21, 1935	May 4, 1936	135 days	Philippine Constabulary	[7]
3		Peralta, MacarioBrigadier General Macario Peralta Jr. (1890–1945) Resigned in 1946	December 21, 1945	December 31, 1946	1 year, 0 days	Philippine Army	[7]
4		Duque, CalixtoBrigadier General Calixto Duque (1890–1945)	December 31, 1946	December 31, 1949	3 years, 0 days	Philippine Army	[7]
5		Vargas, JesusBrigadier General Jesus Vargas (1890–1945)	December 31, 1949	December 31, 1951	3 years, 0 days	Philippine Army	[7]
6		Arellano, AlfonsoBrigadier General Alfonso Arellano (1890–1945)	December 21, 1951	December 31, 1953	1 year, 0 days	Philippine Army	[7]
7		Cruz, PelagioBrigadier General Pelagio Cruz (1890–1945)	December 21, 1958	December 31, 1959	1 year, 0 days	Philippine Army	[7]
8		Papa, RicardoBrigadier General Ricardo Papa (1890–1945)	December 21, 1962	December 31, 1963	1 year, 0 days	Philippine Army	[7]
9		Garcia, NicanorMajor General Nicanor Garcia (October 6, 1909–1971)	December 21, 1963	December 31, 1964	1 year, 0 days	Philippine Army	[7][8]
10		Olivares, FlavianoBrigadier General Flaviano Olivares (1890–1945)	December 21,1965	December 31,1967	1 year, 0 days	Philippine Army	[7]
11		Acab, EugenioBrigadier General Eugenio Acab (1890–1945)	December 21, 1967	December 31, 1969	1 year, 0 days	Philippine Army	[7]
12		Espaldon, RomuloRear Admiral Romulo Espaldon (1890–1945)	December 21, 1972	December 31, 1973	1 year, 0 days	Philippine Navy	[7]
3		Ileto, RafaelMajor General Rafael Ileto (October 24, 1920–June 19, 2003)	January 1, 1973	December 31, 1975	2 years, 0 days	Philippine Army	[7]
14		Ermita, EduardoMajor General Eduardo Ermita (1890–1945)	March 5, 1986	December 31, 1988	1 year, 0 days	Philippine Army	[7]
15		Flores, GuillermoMajor General Guillermo Flores (1890–1945)	December 21, 1988	December 31, 1990	1 year, 0 days	Philippine Army	[7]
16		Abadia, LisandroMajor General Lisandro Abadia (1938–1945)	December 21, 1988	December 31, 1989	3 years, 0 days	Philippine Army	[7]
17		Baylon, NapoleonRear Admiral Napoleon Baylon (1890–1945)	December 21, 1988	December 31, 1991	1 year, 0 days	Philippine Navy	[7]
18		Aguirre, AlexanderMajor General Alexander Aguirre (1938–1945)	December 21, 1990	December 31, 1991	3 years, 0 days	Philippine Army	[7]
19		Filler, AlfredoMajor General Alfredo Filler (1890–1945)	December 21, 1991	December 31, 1993	1 year, 0 days	Philippine Army	[7]
20		Acedera, ArnulfoMajor General Arnulfo Acedera Jr. (1890–1945)	December 21, 1951	December 31, 1953	1 year, 0 days	Philippine Air Force	[7]
21		Mariano, ClementeMajor General Clemente Mariano (1890–1945)	December 21, 1995	December 31, 1996	1 year, 0 days	Philippine Army	[7]
22		Villareal, IsmaelMajor General Ismael Villareal (1890–1945)	December 21, 1997	December 31, 1998	1 year, 0 days	Philippine Army	[7]
23		Fernandez, LuisitoRear Admiral Luisito Fernandez (1890–1945)	December 21, 1995	December 31, 1996	1 year, 0 days	Philippine Navy	[7]
24		Calimlim, JoseMajor General Jose Calimlim (1890–1945)	December 21, 1999	December 31, 2000	1 year, 0 days	Philippine Army	[7]
25		Abaya, NarcisoLieutenant General Narciso Abaya (1890–1945)	December 21, 2001	December 31, 2002	1 year, 0 days	Philippine Army	[7]
26		Delos Reyes, AristonVice Admiral Ariston Delos Reyes (1890–1945)	December 21, 2002	December 31, 2003	1 year, 0 days	Philippine Army	[7]
27		Maclang, RodrigoLieutenant General Rodrigo Maclang (1890–1945)	December 21, 2003	December 31, 2003	1 year, 0 days	Philippine Army	[7]
28		Adan, EdilbertoLieutenant General Edilberto Adan (1890–1945)	December 21, 2004	December 31, 2005	1 year, 0 days	Philippine Army	[7]
29		Catacutan, MarioVice Admiral Mario Catacutan (1890–1945)	December 21, 2006	December 31, 2007	1 year, 0 days	Philippine Navy	[7]
30		Oban, EduardoLieutenant General Eduardo Oban (1890–1945)	December 21, 2009	December 31, 2010	1 year, 0 days	Philippine Air Force	[7]
31		Fallorina, EdgarLieutenant General Edgar Fallorina (1890–1945)	December 21, 2011	December 31, 2012	1 year, 0 days	Philippine Air Force	[7]
32		Kagaon, ErickVice Admiral Erick Kagaon (1890–1945)	December 21, 2016	December 31, 2018	1 year, 0 days	Philippine Navy	[7]
33		Collado, GaudencioVice Admiral Gaudencio Collado (1890–1945)	December 21, 2017	December 31, 2008	1 year, 0 days	Philippine Navy	[7]
34		Reyes, Rommel AnthonyVice Admiral Rommel Anthony SD Reyes served as acting Vice Chief of Staff	March 27, 2022	March 27, 2023	315 days	Philippine Navy	[7]
-		Gonzales, WilliamLieutenant General William Gonzales (1890–1945) Acting Capacity	January 22, 2023	March 27, 2023	1 year, 0 days	Philippine Army	[7]
35		Gaerlan, Charlton SeanLieutenant General Charlton Sean Gaerlan	March 28, 2023	Current	1 year, 28 days	Philippine Marine Corps	[7][9]

See also[edit]

• Armed Forces of the Philippines
• Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines
• Vice Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines
• Department of National Defense