Retiring AFP official to be named envoy to Asian country

Outgoing Armed Forces vice chief Lt. Gen. Nestor Ochoa will be named ambassador to an Asian country once he retires from the military, President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III said Wednesday. "General Ochoa will be an ambassador in an Asian country," Aquino said without elaborating. He promised to name more of his appointees soon. On Tuesday, Armed Forces spokesman Brig. Gen. Jose Mabanta said Ochoa has submitted his papers for early retirement. Ochoa briefly took over as military chief last June 22 when Gen. Delfin Bangit retired early after Aquino said he will not retain Bangit as military chief of staff. Ochoa led the military for 10 days before relinquishing the post to Northern Luzon Command commander Lt. Gen. Ricardo David, who was Aquino's choice for Armed Forces chief. Besides Ochoa, another future appointee is former Quezon City police chief Senior Superintendent Magtanggol Gatdula, who will likely be assigned to head the National Bureau of Investigation or the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, Aquino said. "We have yet to finish evaluation of his credentials, accomplishments etcetera," he said. Gatdula headed the Philippine National Police's Directorate for Information Technology and Computer Management prior to his retirement last month when he reached the mandatory retirement age of 56. Aquino said he is giving himself the rest of the week to finish the restructuring of the Office of the Press Secretary. He said he also hopes to disclose who will head the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) within the week. Aquino, who is currently the acting DILG chief, said he is choosing among two candidates. Aquino said they are also finalizing who will be appointed to the top positions of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS). Labor groups had earlier called on Aquino to replace Winston Garcia as GSIS president for his supposedly labor policies like the Premium-Based Policy, and the Claims and Loans Interdependency Program, which they said deprive GSIS members of full employment benefits. "We're still asking the proposed chairman if he's ready to accept the nomination and we're almost done with the president and the general manager," said Aquino. The administration is still discussing who will occupy appointive positions in government owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) because of the "confusing mix" of varying tenures and the willingness or unwillingness of some officials to resign, Aquino said. - RJAB Jr/KBK, GMANews.TV