Defence chief calls it quits

Army affairs: Galvez (left) at an event with then president Rodrigo Duterte and outgoing army chief Rey Leonardo Guerrero in Quezon City in 2018. — Reuters

THE acting Philippine defence chief has resigned, officials said, in the latest in a series of top- level changes in the country’s security establishment that has sparked talk of renewed military unrest.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr accepted “with deep regret” the resignation of defence officer-in-charge Jose Faustino Jr and offered the top defence post to Carlito Galvez Jr, another retired general who has been involved in peace talks with insurgent groups, presidential spokesperson Cheloy Garafil said yesterday.