(Updated 1:29 p.m.) BAGUIO CITY — President Benigno Simeon Aquino III on Sunday named Lieutenant General Eduardo Oban Jr. as the 42nd chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, replacing Gen. Ricardo David Jr. who is set to retire this March 8. Oban is the third AFP chief to come from the Air Force since 1996. Most of the previous chiefs of staff came from the Army or from the major area commands such as the Southern Command (now divided into the Western Mindanao Command and the Eastern Mindanao Command). "
Wala akong duda sa kakayahan niyang ipagpatuloy ang mga repormang nasimulan ni General Ric David,
at lalo pang pa-iigtingin ang programang pangkapayapaan ng sandatahang lakas (I have no doubt in his capabilities to continue the reforms started out buy General Ric David, and to strengthen the peace program of the armed forces), " the President said. He hopes that Oban will serve to inspire the Philippine Military Academy Class 2011. Aquino reiterated that he will appoint David to another government post but did notelaborate. "
Si General David
ay hindi natin pakakawalan sa serbisyo publiko (We will not let go of General David in public service," the President said.
For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV The turnover ceremonies will be held Monday at Camp Aguinaldo as the President is set to leave the country later that day for his state visits to Indonesia and Singapore. Aquino made the announcement during the 106th commencement exercises of the PMA Laon Alab Class of 2011 in Baguio City.
PMA Laon Alab Class 2011 During the graduation rites, the President handed over to Cadet First Class Angelo Parras, 21, of Apalit, Pampanga the Presidential Saber for topping the Laon Alab (Lakas Tipon Alagad ng Bayan) Class 2011. He also led the commissioning of the 196 graduates as second lieutenants and ensigns of the Armed Forces. Parras is set to join the Philippine Navy. Cadets 1st Class John Gregor Guiang, 21, of Zamboanga del Norte, and Jason Cortes Luna, 23, of Enrile, Cagayan, ranked second and third, respectively. Of the 196 graduates, 22 are females. Of the number, 105 will join the Army, 51 will go to the Navy and 40 will join the Air Force. The other top graduates were Cadets First Class:
- John Gregor Guiang of Zamboanga del Norte
- Jason Cortes Luna of Enrile, Cagayan
- Aljan Cabriga Dino of Naic, Cavite
- Rigor Narag Pamittan of Tuguegarao City, Cagayan
- Janice Baniaga Matbagan of Baguio City
- Bobby Gabayno of Cainta, Rizal
- Ramon Kristofer Ganab Engay of Tuao, Cagayan
- Norman Avila Carual of Tabaco City, Albay, and
- Jason Fabros Parinas of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija.
This year's graduating class is the youngest in the last five years with their median ages between 20 and 22. At least 10 members of the of graduating class were aged 20 and need a waiver to serve as officers in the military because AFP requires its members to be at least 21 years old. After the rites, the graduates and their parents are set to have a lunch with President Aquino at the Mansion, the official residence of the President in Baguio City.
Third highest AFP ranking officer Oban Jr. holds the third highest post in the Armed Forces, being the deputy chief of staff responsible for the administration and supervision of the joint coordinating, technical and special staffs of the military headquarters. He is member of PMA Class of 1979 and was formerly vice commander of the Air Force. Before entering the PMA, Oban graduated from the University of Santo Tomas. He also has a master’s degree in business economics from the University of Asia and the Pacific. He was one of the top graduates of his PMA class. Various sources in Camp Aguinaldo and Malacañang have said that Oban got the President’s final nod about a week ago. He bested at least eight other contenders to the post, including the most senior of them, Army chief Lt. Gen. Arturo Ortiz (PMA 1979), who is retiring in November, and the youngest, AFP operations chief of staff Maj. Gen. Bautista (PMA 1981), who is retiring in 2014. Oban will retire in 9 months, or by Dec. 13 this year. A five-man Board of Generals had submitted to the President a short list of ranking AFP officials as candidates to fill in the post as the 42nd AFP chief. Other candidates included heads of the AFP’s three major services — Navy commander Rear Admiral Alexander Pama, Army chief Lt. Gen. Arturo Ortiz and Air Force chief Lt. Gen. Oscar Rabena. Also on the short list were AFP vice chief of staff Lt. Gen. Reynaldo Mapagu, AFP operations chief Maj. Gen. Emmanuel Bautista, and Maj. Gen. Jessie Delloza, commander of the Army’s 2nd Infantry Division. Like the incoming AFP chief, Delloza, Pama, and Ortiz belong to PMA Class 1979. Mapagu and Rabena are from the PMA Class 1978, the same class that adopted former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as an honorary member. Bautista, the youngest among the contenders, belongs to PMA Class of 1981. As a colonel, Oban helped negotiate for the surrender of Oakwood mutineers in 2003. Oban’s most prominent role in his career was his involvement in negotiations to end the Oakwood mutiny in 2003. The general was among those chosen by the mutinous Magdalo to be part of the government panel that negotiated with them for their return to barracks. A former instructor pilot, Oban hails from Sorsogon. He once served as special assistant to former trade minister Roberto “Bobby" Ongpin and former defense minister and now Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile during the Marcos era.
End extra-judicial killings With the increasing number of political activists and broadcasters being murdered, militant group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) is urging President Aquino to direct his new military chief of staff to end extrajudicial killings in the Philippines. “The President must give clear and unequivocal orders to Gen. Oban Jr. to stop the recent wave of extrajudicial killings," Bayan secretary-general Renato Reyes Jr. said in a statement Sunday. Human rights violations have continued from the Arroyo regime to the present administration, Reyes pointed out. “Unfortunately, it does not get much attention from the President," he said. Some 40 extrajudicial killings were already recorded since Aquino was installed as president of the Philippines, according to Reyes. For the first eight weeks of 2011 alone, there were 10 victims of extrajudicial killings by suspected State forces, said human rights group Karapatan. The latest victims included Bayan activist Rodel Estrellado of Albay and B’laan tribal chief Rudy Dejos and his son Rody Rick Dejos of Davao del Sur.
No human rights agenda “If Aquino can investigate corruption in the Armed Forces, why can’t he order the investigation of human rights abuses past and present? Why can’t he stop the killings?" Reyes said. Bayan pointed out that the Aquino government still has no clear human rights agenda. Reyes said that human rights have “never ranked high among Aquino’s priorities ever since he took office. The deaths keep coming and government is doing nothing," Reyes said. The military’s counter-insurgency plan Bayanihan is a mere “psywar" that disregards respect for human rights, according to Bayan. Having 40 cases of extrajudicial killings in a span of eight of months only mean that the administration does not “obviously respect human rights," Reyes said. “We’d like to see Aquino and the new chief of staff investigate human rights abuses in the same way they are investigating corruption in the Armed Forces," he said, referring to the scandal involving former AFP comptrollers. “We’d like to see the Senate investigate generals who have been implicated in extrajudicial killings then and now," Reyes also said.
— JE/MRT/VS, GMA News 
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