The Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (CSAFP) is the highest-ranking military officer (except for the

President of the Philippines The president of the Philippines ( fil, Pangulo ng Pilipinas, sometimes referred to as ''Presidente ng Pilipinas'') is the head of state, head of government and chief executive of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of t ...

, who holds the position of Commander-in-Chief equivalent to a five-star general) and the head of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), including all service branches (

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

– Marine Corps, Coast Guard—in Wartime Attached Service) under its command. The position is usually held by a four-star rank of

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

. Its direct equivalent in the

US Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...

is the

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) is the presiding officer of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). The chairman is the highest-ranking and most senior military officer in the United States Armed Forces Chairman: app ...

. Unlike its US counterpart, which is merely supervisory, the Chief of Staff has complete operational control and is responsible for the overall operations of the AFP. The holder of this position is appointed by, as well as directly reports to the

under the Article VII, Section 18 of the 1987 Constitution. He executes the President's commands, tactics, operations, plannings, and strategies, as well as serves as the Immediate Adviser to the

Secretary of National Defense {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

. He also prescribes directions to all commands (including the Commanding General of the Philippine Army, the Commanding General of the Philippine Air Force, the Flag Officer-in-Command of the Philippine Navy, the Commanders of the AFP Unified Commands, and the AFP Board of Generals). The Armed Forces of the Philippines were created as a result of the Commonwealth Act No. 1, also known as the National Defense Act of 1935. However, the origin of the organization can be traced back to the establishment of the Philippine Constabulary, armed Filipino forces organized in 1901 by the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

to combat the

Philippine Revolutionary Army The Philippine Revolutionary Army, later renamed Philippine Republican Army (Spanish: ''Ejército Revolucionario Filipino''; Tagalog: ''Panghimagsikang Hukbong Katihan ng Pilipinas''), was the official armed forces of the First Philippine Repu ...

then led by General

Emilio Aguinaldo Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy (: March 22, 1869February 6, 1964) was a Filipino revolutionary, statesman, and military leader who is the youngest president of the Philippines (1899–1901) and is recognized as the first president of the Philippine ...

History

The position of the Chief of Staff has been traced from the Commanding General of the Philippine Army, when the

Philippine Commonwealth Army The Philippine Army was established on December 21, 1935, as the Army of the Philippines, with a general headquarters in Manila, and units and formations based throughout the provinces of the Philippines. The Philippine Army was initially org ...

(now the Philippine Army) was established as the main army of the

Commonwealth of the Philippines The Commonwealth of the Philippines ( es, Commonwealth de Filipinas or ; tl, Komonwelt ng Pilipinas) was the administrative body that governed the Philippines from 1935 to 1946, aside from a period of exile in the Second World War from 1942 ...

. After the defeat of the First Philippine Republic during the

Philippine–American War The Philippine–American War or Filipino–American War ( es, Guerra filipina-estadounidense, tl, Digmaang Pilipino–Amerikano), previously referred to as the Philippine Insurrection or the Tagalog Insurgency by the United States, was an arm ...

, the

dissolved the army and relied on its

armed forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

together with some Filipino troops under the Philippine Constabulary. However, the

National Defense Act of 1935 {{Infobox legislation , long_title = An Act to provide National Defense of the Philippines, penalizing certain violations thereof, appropriating funds therefor, and for other purposes , citation Commonwealth Act No. 1, territorial_extent = Philip ...

led to take on responsibilities on national defense and pave way for the creation of three major commands (

). Since the 1960s, the rosters of the Chiefs of Staff is arranged accordingly. 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.

Organization and term limit

The AFP Chief of Staff is assisted by the Vice Chief of Staff of the AFP (VCSAFP) and The Deputy Chief of Staff of the AFP (TDCSAFP), both holders of the rank of

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

/ Vice Admiral. The Vice Chief of Staff serves as the primary assistant of the AFP Chief of Staff in their operational duties, as well as in policy conceptualization and implementation matters in the AFP, and also assists the AFP Chief of Staff in their absence. The Deputy Chief of Staff (TDCS) is tasked to supervise the organizational staff, including the Joint Staff, the Special Staff, the Administrative and the Technical Staff. The Deputy Chief of Staff is also responsible for assisting the AFP's overall policy and strategy formations, and perform other duties assigned by the AFP Chief of Staff. These posts are also assisted by the Secretary Joint Staff (SJS), who serves as the executive officer for the AFP Chief of Staff, the Vice Chief of Staff, and The Deputy Chief of Staff. The AFP Chief of Staff is also advised on enlisted personnel matters by the Armed Forces of the Philippines Sergeant Major (AFPSM). The AFP Chief of Staff has no definite or fixed term limit, under Republic Act No. 8186, as the term limit of the AFP Chief of Staff, along with all uniformed members of the AFP, has a mandatory retirement age at 56 years old. Nevertheless, the AFP Chief of Staff's term can be extended and allows a flexible term while serving beyond the mandatory retirement age, as the AFP Chief of Staff can serve their post until 3 years. Plans to reform the current system were made in 2011, but was vetoed by then-President Benigno Aquino III. An updated bill is currently being crafted since 2020, which aims to create a fixed term of 3 years for the AFP Chief of Staff, the Vice Chief of Staff, The Deputy Chief of Staff, the commanders of the three major services (

), the commanders of the unified commands ( NOLCOM, SOLCOM, WESCOM,

CENTCOM The United States Central Command (USCENTCOM or CENTCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the U.S. Department of Defense. It was established in 1983, taking over the previous responsibilities of the Rapid Deployment Joint Tas ...

, WESTMINCOM, EASTMINCOM), the commandant of the Philippine Marine Corps, the commander of the

AFP Special Operations Command AFP most often refers to: * Agence France-Presse, an international news agency * Australian Federal Police AFP or afp may also refer to: Media * Advertiser-funded programming, a television funding model *American Family Publishers, a magazin ...

, and the commander of the upcoming Cyber Security Command; while the Superintendent of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) will have a 4-year term in their post, and will not be allowed to be reappointed in other higher posts. The bill also allows the president to remove the sitting AFP chief of staff at his/her pleasure within their 3-year term. Once passed and enacted into law, the new law aims to increase the flexibility, organizational professionalism and effectiveness in their respective roles. On May 16, 2022, former President

Rodrigo Duterte Rodrigo Roa Duterte (, ; born March 28, 1945), also known as Digong, Rody, and by the initials DU30 and PRRD, is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He is the chairperson ...

signed the Republic Act No. 11709, which serves as the new law that enables a three-year fixed term for key officials of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, including the Chief of Staff of the AFP.

Officeholders

Notes

References

External links

*
''Reveille: AFP chiefs of staff through the years'', Ramon J. Farolan, Philippine Daily Inquirer, January 10, 2010
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chairman of the Joint Chiefs (Philippines) Filipino military leaders Armed Forces of the Philippines Department of National Defense (Philippines)