Chief of the Army (Philippines)

Commanding General of the Philippine Army
Flag of the Commanding General of the Philippine Army
Incumbent Lieutenant General Antonio G. Nafarrete since 31 July 2025
Philippine Army
Abbreviation	CGPA
Reports to	Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines
Residence	Fort Andres Bonifacio, Taguig City
Seat	Fort Andres Bonifacio, Taguig City
Appointer	The president with Commission on Appointments confirmation
Term length	2 years
Constituting instrument	Republic Act No. 11939 [1]
Precursor	Commanding General of the Philippine Revolutionary Army
Formation	11 January 1936
Deputy	Vice Commander of the Philippine Army Chief of Staff of the Philippine Army

The Commanding General of the Philippine Army (CGPA) is the overall commander and highest ranking officer commissioned to serve in the Philippine Army. The position concurrently holds the three-star rank of lieutenant general. ^[2]

The commanding general is appointed by the president of the Philippines and confirmed by the Commission on Appointments. In the military chain of command, the CGPA directly reports to the chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Powers and responsibilities

The Commanding General serves as the overall head of the Philippine Army, where he/she has full operational control and command of the army. Unlike its US-based counterpart, the chief of staff of the U.S. Army, the CGPA has direct command oversight of the army's activities, army operations, and administrative functions to all army units, down from the army's enlisted personnel, and up to the army's different commands and divisions under its branch. The CGPA directly reports all operations and functions to the chief of staff of the Armed Forces and serves as the primary advisor for the secretary of national defense in army related matters, which will also be transmitted to the president of the Philippines, who serves as the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. The CGPA is also responsible for the army's resource management and strategic planning thrusts aimed at ensuring that the army can respond in addressing the command's needs, from programs such as the Army's modernization programs, doctrine development, research & development-related objectives, and addressing the professional and welfare programs of the command. The CGPA is also in managing humanitarian assistance operations in times of calamities and also holds international collaboration efforts to other armies in the region, which fosters both inter-army relations and potential partnerships in future military exercises.

Organization and term limit

The CGPA is directly assisted by two deputies, namely the Vice-Commander of the Philippine Army, who serves as the CGPA's immediate assistant in implementing the army's thrusts and operations, and the Chief of Staff of the Philippine Army. The Vice-Commander also has the power to assist the CGPA in their absence, while the Chief of Staff serves as the overall head of the Army's organizational staff, ensuring that the Army's thrusts is properly implemented and is responsible in managing the Army's administrative commands, general staff commands, and offices.

The CGPA is directly appointed by the President of the Philippines, who also has the power to end the fixed term of the CGPA at their pleasure, and needs the consent and approval of the Commission on Appointments for briefing and confirmation of their post. The CGPA's fixed-term length lasts two years, under the provisions of Republic Act No. 11939, and can only be extended in times of war and national emergencies with the approval of Congress. ^[1]

Officeholders

Captain General of the Revolutionary Army

No.	Portrait	Name	Term			President	Ref.
			Took office	Left office	Duration
1		Ricarte, ArtemioGeneral Artemio Ricarte y García (1866–1945)	22 March 1897	22 January 1899	1 year, 306 days	Emilio Aguinaldo	[3]

Commanding General of the Republican Army

No.	Portrait	Name	Term			President	Ref.
			Took office	Left office	Duration
2		Luna, AntonioGeneral Antonio Luna y Novicio (1866–1899)	23 January 1899	5 June 1899 †	133 days	Emilio Aguinaldo	[4]
—		Aguinaldo, EmilioGeneral Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy (1869–1964) Acting	5 June 1899	1 April 1901	146 days	Himself	—

Chief of Staff of the Philippine Army

No.	Portrait	Name	Term			President	Ref.
			Took office	Left office	Duration
3		Reyes, Jose de losMajor General Jose de los Reyes (1874–1945)	11 January 1936	3 May 1936	113 days	Manuel Quezon	[5]
4		Santos, PaulinoMajor General Paulino Santos (1890–1945)	6 May 1936	31 December 1938	2 years, 239 days	Manuel Quezon	[5]
5		Valdés, BasilioMajor General Basilio Valdés (1892–1970)	1 January 1939	7 November 1945	6 years, 310 days	Manuel Quezon Sergio Osmeña	[5]
6		Jalandoni, RafaelMajor General Rafael Jalandoni (1894–1949)	21 December 1945	10 March 1947	1 year, 79 days	Sergio Osmeña Manuel Roxas	[5] [6]

Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines

No.	Portrait	Name	Term			President	Ref.
			Took office	Left office	Duration
6		Jalandoni, RafaelMajor General Rafael Jalandoni (1894–1949)	10 March 1947	21 December 1948	1 year, 286 days	Manuel Roxas Elpidio Quirino	[5] [6]
7		Castañeda, MarianoMajor General Mariano Castañeda (1892–1970)	21 December 1948	15 January 1951	2 years, 25 days	Elpidio Quirino	—
8		Duque, CalixtoMajor General Calixto Duque (1893–1972)	15 January 1951	29 December 1953	2 years, 348 days	Elpidio Quirino	—
9		Vargas, JesusLieutenant General Jesus Vargas (1905–1994)	30 December 1953	29 December 1956	2 years, 365 days	Ramon Magsaysay	—
10		Arellano, AlfonsoLieutenant General Alfonso Arellano (1905–1957)	29 December 1956	1 June 1957	154 days	Ramon Magsaysay Carlos Garcia	—

Commanding General of the Philippine Army

No.	Portrait	Name	Term			President	Chief of Staff	Ref.
			Took office	Left office	Duration
11		Tan, LeoncioBrigadier General Leoncio Tan (1910–1986)	1 July 1957	12 June 1958	346 days	Carlos García	Alfonso Arellano	–
12		Fajardo, TirsoBrigadier General Tirso Fajardo (1910–1986)	12 June 1958	1 August 1960	2 years, 50 days	Carlos García	Alfonso Arellano Manuel Cabal	–
13		Santos, AlfredoBrigadier General Alfredo Santos (1905–1990)	1 August 1960	16 September 1962	2 years, 46 days	Carlos García Diosdado Macapagal	Manuel Cabal Pelagio Cruz	–
14		García, DominadorBrigadier General Dominador García	16 September 1962	1 January 1963	107 days	Diosdado Macapagal	Alfredo Santos	–
15		Papa, RicardoBrigadier General Ricardo Papa	1 January 1963	31 August 1963	242 days	Diosdado Macapagal	Alfredo Santos	–
16		Mata, ErnestoBrigadier General Ernesto Mata (1915–2012)	1 September 1963	1 June 1964	274 days	Diosdado Macapagal	Alfredo Santos	–
17		Atienza, RigobertoBrigadier General Rigoberto Atienza	1 June 1964	23 March 1965	295 days	Diosdado Macapagal	Alfredo Santos	–
18		Lapus, IsmaelBrigadier General Ismael Lapus	23 March 1965	28 September 1965	189 days	Diosdado Macapagal	Alfredo Santos Rigoberto Atienza	–
19		MonzonBrigadier General Patricio Monzon	28 September 1965	1 December 1965	64 days	Diosdado Macapagal	Rigoberto Atienza	–
20		de Goma, SilvinoBrigadier General Silvino de Goma	1 December 1965	25 January 1966	55 days	Diosdado Macapagal Ferdinand Marcos	Rigoberto Atienza Ernesto Mata	–
21		García, SantosBrigadier General Santos García	25 January 1966	13 January 1967	353 days	Ferdinand Marcos	Ernesto Mata	–
22		Espino, RomeoBrigadier General Romeo Espino (1914–2003)	13 January 1967	29 May 1968	1 year, 137 days	Ferdinand Marcos	Ernesto Mata Víctor Osias Segundo Velasco	–
23		Maglaya, RúbenBrigadier General Rúben Maglaya	29 May 1968	30 June 1969	1 year, 32 days	Ferdinand Marcos	Manuel Yan	–
24		Ileto, RafaelBrigadier General Rafael Ileto (1920–2003)	30 June 1969	16 January 1972	2 years, 200 days	Ferdinand Marcos	Manuel Yan	–
25		Zagala, RafaelMajor General Rafael Zagala	16 January 1972	16 January 1975	3 years, 0 days	Ferdinand Marcos	Romeo Espino	–
26		Sarimos, RicardoMajor General Ricardo Sarimos	16 January 1975	27 March 1976	1 year, 71 days	Ferdinand Marcos	Romeo Espino	–
27		Abat, FortunatoMajor General Fortunato Abat (1925–2018)	28 March 1976	27 March 1981	4 years, 364 days	Ferdinand Marcos	Romeo Espino	–
28		Ramas, JosephusMajor General Josephus Ramas (1925–2005)	27 March 1981	28 February 1986	4 years, 338 days	Ferdinand Marcos	Fabian Ver Fidel Ramos	–
29		Canieso, RodolfoMajor General Rodolfo Canieso (1932–2016)	28 February 1986	1 July 1987	1 year, 123 days	Corazon Aquino	Fidel Ramos	–
30		Padilla, RestitutoMajor General Restituto Padilla Sr.	1 July 1987	30 March 1988	273 days	Corazon Aquino	Fidel Ramos Renato de Villa	–
31		Adalem, MarianoMajor General Mariano Adalem (1933–2000)	30 March 1988	26 July 1989	1 year, 118 days	Corazon Aquino	Renato de Villa	–
32		Cacanando, ManuelMajor General Manuel Cacanando	26 July 1989	1 March 1990	218 days	Corazon Aquino	Renato de Villa	–
33		Guillermo, RicardoMajor General Guillermo Flores	1 March 1990	11 January 1991	316 days	Corazon Aquino	Renato de Villa	–
34		Abadia, LisandroMajor General Lisandro Abadia	11 January 1991	11 April 1991	90 days	Corazon Aquino	Renato de Villa Rodolfo Biazon	–
35		Enrile, ArturoLieutenant General Arturo Enrile (1940–1998)	11 April 1991	15 April 1994	3 years, 4 days	Corazon Aquino Fidel Ramos	Lisandro Abadia	–
36		Yap, RómuloLieutenant General Rómulo Yap (1939–2022)	15 April 1994	20 February 1995	311 days	Fidel Ramos	Arturo Enrile	–
37		Soriano, OrlandoLieutenant General Orlando Soriano	20 February 1995	25 January 1996	339 days	Fidel Ramos	Arturo Enrile	–
38		Mariano, ClementeLieutenant General Clemente Mariano	25 January 1996	31 December 1997	1 year, 340 days	Fidel Ramos	Arturo Enrile Arnulfo Acedera Jr.	–
39		Lieutenant general Raul Urgello	31 December 1997	30 September 1998	273 days	Fidel Ramos Joseph Estrada	Clemente Mariano Joselin Nazareno	–
40		Reyes, AngeloLieutenant General Angelo Reyes (1945–2011)	30 September 1998	3 May 1999	215 days	Joseph Estrada	Joselin Nazareno	–
41		Gazmin, VoltaireLieutenant General Voltaire Gazmin (born 1944)	3 May 1999	22 October 2000	1 year, 172 days	Joseph Estrada	Angelo Reyes	–
42		Villanueva, DiomedioLieutenant General Diomedio Villanueva (1947–2023)	22 October 2000	17 March 2001	146 days	Joseph Estrada Gloria Macapagal Arroyo	Angelo Reyes	–
43		de los Santos, JaimeLieutenant General Jaime de los Santos (born 1946)	17 March 2001	2 April 2002	1 year, 16 days	Gloria Macapagal Arroyo	Diomedio Villanueva	–
44		Santiago, DionisioLieutenant General Dionisio Santiago (born 1947)	2 April 2002	14 November 2002	226 days	Gloria Macapagal Arroyo	Diomedio Villanueva Roy Cimatu Benjamin Defensor Jr.	–
45		Camiling, GregorioLieutenant General Gregorio Camiling Jr.	14 November 2002	6 January 2003	53 days	Gloria Macapagal Arroyo	Benjamin Defensor Jr. Dionisio Santiago	–
46		Abu, EfrenLieutenant General Efren Abu	6 January 2003	3 November 2004	1 year, 302 days	Gloria Macapagal Arroyo	Dionisio Santiago Narciso Abaya	–
47		Senga, GenerosoLieutenant General Generoso Senga (born 1950)	3 November 2004	17 August 2005	287 days	Gloria Macapagal Arroyo	Efren Abu	–
48		Esperon, HermogenesLieutenant General Hermogenes Esperon (born 1952)	17 August 2005	22 July 2006	339 days	Gloria Macapagal Arroyo	Generoso Senga	–
49		Tolentino, RomeoLieutenant General Romeo Tolentino (born 1952)	22 July 2006	24 August 2007	1 year, 33 days	Gloria Macapagal Arroyo	Hermogenes Esperon	–
50		Yano, AlexanderLieutenant General Alexander Yano (born 1953)	24 August 2007	12 May 2008	262 days	Gloria Macapagal Arroyo	Hermogenes Esperon	[7]
51		Ibrado, VictorLieutenant General Victor Ibrado	12 May 2008	4 May 2009	357 days	Gloria Macapagal Arroyo	Alexander Yano	[8]
52		Bangit, DelfinLieutenant General Delfin Bangit (1955–2013)	4 May 2009	12 March 2010	312 days	Gloria Macapagal Arroyo	Victor Ibrado	[9]
53		Mapagu, ReynaldoLieutenant General Reynaldo Mapagu	12 March 2010	23 July 2010	133 days	Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Benigno Aquino III	Delfin Bangit Nestor Ochoa Ricardo David	[10]
54		Ortiz, ArturoLieutenant General Arturo Ortiz (born 1955)	23 July 2010	10 November 2011	1 year, 110 days	Benigno Aquino III	Ricardo David Eduardo Oban	[11]
55		Bautista, EmmanuelLieutenant General Emmanuel Bautista (born 1961)	10 November 2011	22 January 2013	1 year, 73 days	Benigno Aquino III	Eduardo Oban Jessie Dellosa	[12]
56		Coballes, NoelLieutenant General Noel Coballes (born 1958)	22 January 2013	7 February 2014	1 year, 16 days	Benigno Aquino III	Emmanuel Bautista	[13]
57		Iriberri, HernandoLieutenant General Hernando Iriberri (born 1961)	7 February 2014	15 July 2015	1 year, 158 days	Benigno Aquino III	Emmanuel Bautista Gregorio Catapang Jr.	[14]
58		Año, EduardoLieutenant General Eduardo Año (born 1961)	15 July 2015	7 December 2016	1 year, 145 days	Benigno Aquino III Rodrigo Duterte	Hernando Iriberri Glorioso Miranda Ricardo Visaya	[14]
—		Miranda, GloriosoLieutenant General Glorioso Miranda (born 1961) Acting	7 December 2016	5 October 2017	302 days	Rodrigo Duterte	Eduardo Año	[15]
59		Bautista, RolandoLieutenant General Rolando Joselito Bautista (born 1962)	5 October 2017	15 October 2018	1 year, 10 days	Rodrigo Duterte	Eduardo Año Rey Leonardo Guerrero Carlito Galvez Jr.	[16]
60		Alberto, MacairogLieutenant General Macairog Alberto (born 1963)	15 October 2018	6 December 2019	1 year, 52 days	Rodrigo Duterte	Carlito Galvez Jr. Benjamin Madrigal Jr. Noel Clement	[17] [18] [19] [20]
61		Gapay, GilbertLieutenant General Gilbert Gapay (born 1965)	6 December 2019	3 August 2020	241 days	Rodrigo Duterte	Noel Clement Felimon Santos Jr.	[21] [22] [23] [24] [25]
62		Sobejana, CirilitoLieutenant General Cirilito Sobejana (born 1965)	4 August 2020	16 February 2021	197 days	Rodrigo Duterte	Gilbert Gapay	[26]
63		Faustino, JoseLieutenant General Jose Faustino Jr. (born 1965)	16 February 2021	14 May 2021	87 days	Rodrigo Duterte	Cirilito Sobejana	[27] [28] [29] [30]
64		Centino, AndresLieutenant General Andres Centino (born 1967)	14 May 2021	10 December 2021	210 days	Rodrigo Duterte	Cirilito Sobejana Jose Faustino Jr.	[31] [32] [33] [34] [35]
65		Brawner, RomeoLieutenant General Romeo Brawner Jr. (born 1968)	10 December 2021	7 August 2023	1 year, 240 days	Rodrigo Duterte Bongbong Marcos	Andres Centino Bartolome Bacarro	[36]
66		Galido, RoyLieutenant General Roy M. Galido (born 1968)	7 August 2023	31 July 2025	1 year, 358 days	Bongbong Marcos	Romeo Brawner Jr.	[37] [38]
67		Nafarrete, AntonioLieutenant General Antonio G. Nafarrete (born 1969)	31 July 2025	Incumbent	94 days	Bongbong Marcos	Romeo Brawner Jr.	–

See also

• Armed Forces of the Philippines
• Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines
• Philippine Army
• Chief of Air Force
• Chief of Navy
• Chief of Constabulary

References

1. "Republic Act No. 11939 | GOVPH". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. 17 May 2023.
2. Republic Act 11709. Congress of the Philippines. 26 July 2021.
3. Richardson, Jim (2013). The Light of Liberty: Documents and Studies on the Katipunan, 1892-1897. Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press. p. 330. ISBN   9789715506755.
4. Beede, Benjamin (1994). The War of 1898 and U.S. Interventions, 1898-1934: An Encyclopedia. Routledge. p. 266. ISBN   9781136746918.
5. "Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines.
6. Exec. Order No. 1947-94 (March 5, 1947)  President of the Philippines
7. Mananghaya, James (22 August 2007). "Yano named next Army chief". The Philippine Star. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
8. "New Philippine Army chief named". ABS-CBN News. 6 May 2008. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
9. Laude, Jaime; Mananghaya, James (15 April 2009). "Ibrado named AFP chief; Bangit gets Army". The Philippine Star. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
10. "Mapagu takes over Army chief". ABS-CBN News. 12 March 2010. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
11. "Noynoy names bemedalled Ortiz as new Army chief". GMA News. 20 July 2010. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
12. Glenda M. Gloria (7 November 2011). "Young general is new Army chief". Rappler. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
13. Frances Mangosing (22 January 2013). "Coballes is new Army chief at 'challenging and delicate' time". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
14. William Depasupil (7 February 2014). "Iriberri is new Army chief". The Manila Times. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
15. Frances Mangosing (9 December 2016). "Miranda named as acting Army chief". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
16. Carmela Fonbuena (4 October 2017). "Marawi general is next Army chief". Rappler. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
17. "AFP's top spy is new Army chief". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
18. "AFP welcomes Alberto as new PH Army commanding general". Manila Bulletin. Archived from the original on 26 September 2019. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
19. "Top military intelligence officer is next Army chief". CNN Philippines. 11 October 2018. Archived from the original on 19 May 2019. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
20. "CGPA promoted to three star rank". Philippine Army Website. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
21. Ranada, Pia. "Southern Luzon commander is new Army chief". Rappler. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
22. "Ex-Solcom chief named new Philippine Army commander". GMA News. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
23. "Gapay takes over as new Army chief". GMA News. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
24. Web, Developer. "New Army Commanding General assumes position". Philippine Army Website. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
25. "Southern Luzon commander is new Army chief". Rappler. 4 December 2019. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
26. "Sobejana is new Army chief". Manila Bulletin. 30 July 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
27. "AFP Eastern Command chief Faustino is acting Army chief — Sobejana". Inquirer. 12 February 2021. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
28. "Eastern Mindanao commander Jose Faustino is next Army chief". Rappler. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
29. "New acting Army chief has high level of experience: Sobejana". www.pna.gov.ph. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
30. "EastMinCom commander named acting Army chief". cnn. Archived from the original on 12 February 2021. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
31. "LOOK: Andres Centino sworn in as 64th Philippine Army chief". Rappler. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
32. "Andres Centino of Northern Mindanao 'diamond division' is new Army chief". Rappler. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
33. "Proud Cebuano! Eduardo Gullas welcomes appointment of Andres Centino as Army chief | Politiko Visayas". 18 May 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
34. "PH on brink of victory vs. security threats: new PA chief". www.pna.gov.ph. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
35. "Brawner assumes post as Army chief". The Manila Times . 11 December 2021.
36. "MGen Romeo Brawner Jr. is new Philippine Army chief". MindaNews. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
37. "Marcos names Roy Galido as new Army head". CNN Philippines. 31 July 2023. Archived from the original on 1 August 2023. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
38. Cabristante, Raffy (7 August 2023). "Galido assumes post as 66th Philippine Army commander". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved 12 August 2023.

External links

• Lineage of the Philippine Army Commanding Generals