AFP on Wescom shake-up: Execs due for reassignment, schooling

Camp Aguinaldo gate FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Thursday said the shake-up in Western Command — the unified command in charge in West Philippine Sea territories — occurred as some officials are due for reassignment while others will undertake schooling.

AFP public affairs chief Col. Xerxes Trinidad said the move is a “standard administrative procedure” which came on the heels of the replacement of their former commander, Vice Adm. Alberto Carlos.

“Some of the officers concerned were already due for reassignment while others will be undertaking further schooling to enhance their skills and competencies,” Trinidad said in a statement.

Simple ceremonies were held on Monday and Tuesday in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan for the turnover ceremony for several key posts in Wescom, according to a Philippine Daily Inquirer report.

Navy Capt. Mateo Carido replaced Air Force Col. Gerald Naldoza as chief of unified command staff (UCS); Navy Capt. Oliver Obongen succeeded Cmdr. Mark Francisco as assistant chief of UCS (ACUCS) for intelligence; Navy Capt. Flitzerald Cañete replaced Capt. Brix Dumanig as ACUCS for operations; Navy Capt. Ariel Nicomedes Torres replaced Cmdr. Antonio Bosch as ACUCS for plans and programs; while Cmdr. Michael Anthony Ubaldo replaced Cmdr. Roderick Gemino as ACUCS for financial management.

These former staff were already given new assignments, the Inquirer also learned.

READ: Ex-Wescom chief’s key staff also replaced

Trinidad also said the reassignments were already planned prior to the installation of Rear Admiral Alfonso Torres Jr. to replace Carlos as Wescom commander.

“This underscores the continuity and forward-planning inherent in our personnel management system,” Trinidad also said.

Carlos is at the center of controversy for supposedly agreeing to a “new model” with China over rotation and resupply missions to the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal, which he denied during a recent Senate hearing.

The regular resupply mission in the BRP Sierra Madre, a naval outpost grounded in Ayungin Shoal since 1999, became one of the flashpoints of tension in the West Philippine Sea, as Chinese vessels resorted to usage of military-grade lasers and water cannons which even injured Philippine navy personnel.

This move is in line with Beijing’s assertion of sovereignty in almost the entire South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea, even if such a claim has been effectively invalidated by a July 2016 international tribunal ruling that stemmed from a case filed by Manila in 2013.