Chief of the Army (Philippines)

The Chief of the Army is the overall commander and senior general of the Philippine Army, the ground warfare branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. It is normally held by a three-star rank of Lieutenant General and was formerly known as the "Commanding General of the Philippine Army (CGPA)" until June 2020.[1] He has operational control and is responsible for overall operations of the army, and directly reports to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs.

Chief of the Army
Flag of the Chief of the Philippine Army
Incumbent Lieutenant General Cirilito Sobejana since August 4, 2020
Philippine Army
Reports to	Chairman of the Joint Chiefs
Appointer	President of the Philippines with the consent of the Commission on Appointments
Term length	Mandatory retirement upon reaching the age of 56
Precursor	Commanding General of the Philippine Revolutionary Army Commanding General of the Philippine Army
Formation	11 January 1936
Unofficial names	“Ama ng Hukbo”
Deputy	Deputy Chief of the Army Chief of the Army Staff

Officeholders

Commanding Generals of the Philippine Revolutionary Army

No.	Portrait	Commanding General	Took office	Left office	Time in office	President
1		Ricarte, ArtemioGeneral Artemio Ricarte (1866–1945) [lower-alpha 1]	March 22, 1897	January 22, 1899	1 year, 306 days	Emilio Aguinaldo
2		Luna, AntonioGeneral Antonio Luna (1866–1899) [lower-alpha 2]	January 23, 1899	June 5, 1899 †	133 days	Emilio Aguinaldo
*		Aguinaldo, EmilioGeneral Emilio Aguinaldo (1869–1964) [lower-alpha 3]	5 June 1899	23 March 1901	1 year, 291 days	Himself as Generalissimo

1. Ricarte was elected Captain-General by the Tejeros Convention.
2. Luna was assassinated by General Aguinaldo's men.
3. Aguinaldo personally took charge after General Antonio Luna's assassination.

Commanding Generals of the Philippine Army

No.	Portrait	Commanding General	Took office	Left office	Time in office	President
3		Major General José J. delos Reyes	January 11, 1936	May 3, 1936	113 days	Manuel L. Quezon
4		Major General Paulino Santos (1890–1945)	May 6, 1936	December 31, 1938	2 years, 239 days	Manuel L. Quezon
5		Major General Basilio J. Valdez (1892–1970)	January 1, 1939	November 7, 1945	6 years, 310 days	Manuel L. Quezon Sergio Osmeña
6		Major General Rafael Jalandoni	December 21, 1945	December 21, 1948	3 years, 0 days	Sergio Osmeña Manuel A. Roxas
7		Major General Mariano N. Castañeda, Sr.	December 21, 1948	January 15, 1951	2 years, 25 days	Elpidio Quirino
8		Major General Calixto Duque	January 15, 1951	December 29, 1953	2 years, 348 days	Elpidio Quirino
9		Lieutenant General Jesus M. Vargas (1905–1994)	December 30, 1953	December 29, 1956	2 years, 365 days	Ramon Magsaysay
10		Lieutenant General Alfonso Arellano	December 29, 1956	June 1, 1957	154 days	Ramon Magsaysay Carlos P. Garcia
11		Brigadier General Leoncio S. Tan	July 1, 1957	June 12, 1958	346 days	Carlos P. Garcia
12		Brigadier General Tirso G. Fajardo	June 12, 1958	August 1, 1960	2 years, 50 days	Carlos P. Garcia
13		Brigadier General Alfredo M. Santos (1905–1990)	August 1, 1960	September 16, 1962	2 years, 46 days	Diosdado Macapagal
14		Brigadier General Dominador F. García	September 16, 1962	January 1, 1963	107 days	Diosdado Macapagal
15		Brigadier General Ricardo J. Papa	January 1, 1963	August 31, 1963	242 days	Diosdado Macapagal
16		Brigadier General Ernesto S. Mata (1915–2012)	September 1, 1963	June 1, 1964	274 days	Diosdado Macapagal
17		Brigadier General Rigoberto J. Atienza	June 1, 1964	March 23, 1965	295 days	Diosdado Macapagal
18		Brigadier General Ismael D. Lapus	March 23, 1965	September 28, 1965	189 days	Diosdado Macapagal
19		Brigadier General Patricio R. Monzon	September 28, 1965	December 1, 1965	64 days	Diosdado Macapagal
20		Brigadier General Silvino R. de Goma	December 1, 1965	January 25, 1966	55 days	Diosdado Macapagal Ferdinand E. Marcos
21		Brigadier General Santos S. García	January 25, 1966	January 13, 1967	353 days	Ferdinand E. Marcos
22		Brigadier General Romeo C. Espino	January 13, 1967	May 29, 1968	1 year, 137 days	Ferdinand E. Marcos
23		Brigadier General Ruben M. Maglaya	May 29, 1968	June 30, 1969	1 year, 32 days	Ferdinand E. Marcos
24		Brigadier General Rafael M. Ileto	June 30, 1969	January 16, 1972	2 years, 200 days	Ferdinand E. Marcos
25		Major General Rafael G. Zagala	January 16, 1972	January 16, 1975	3 years, 0 days	Ferdinand E. Marcos
26		Major General Ricardo V. Sarimos	January 16, 1975	March 27, 1976	1 year, 71 days	Ferdinand E. Marcos
27		Major General Fortunato U. Abat (1925–2018)	March 28, 1976	March 27, 1981	4 years, 364 days	Ferdinand E. Marcos
28		Major General Josephus Q. Ramas	March 27, 1981	February 28, 1986	4 years, 338 days	Ferdinand E. Marcos Corazon Aquino
29		Major General Rodolfo A. Canieso	February 28, 1986	July 1, 1987	1 year, 123 days	Corazon Aquino
30		Major General Restituto C. Padilla, Sr.	July 1, 1987	March 30, 1988	273 days	Corazon Aquino
31		Major General Mariano P. Adalem	March 30, 1988	July 26, 1989	1 year, 118 days	Corazon Aquino
32		Major General Manuel V. Cacanando	July 26, 1989	March 1, 1990	218 days	Corazon Aquino
33		Major General Ricardo P. Flores	March 1, 1990	January 11, 1991	316 days	Corazon Aquino
34		Major General Lisandro C. Abadia	January 11, 1991	April 11, 1991	90 days	Corazon Aquino
35		Lieutenant General Arturo T. Enrile (1940–1998)	April 11, 1991	April 15, 1994	3 years, 4 days	Corazon Aquino
36		Lieutenant General Rómulo F. Yap	April 15, 1994	February 20, 1995	311 days	Corazon Aquino Fidel V. Ramos
37		Lieutenant General Orlando V. Soriano	February 20, 1995	January 25, 1996	339 days	Fidel V. Ramos
38		Lieutenant General Clemente P. Mariano	January 25, 1996	December 31, 1997	1 year, 340 days	Fidel V. Ramos
39		Lieutenant General Angelo T. Reyes	December 31, 1997	May 3, 1999	1 year, 123 days	Fidel V. Ramos Joseph Estrada
40		Lieutenant General Voltaire T. Gazmin (born 1944)	May 3, 1999	October 22, 2000	1 year, 172 days	Joseph Estrada
41		Lieutenant General Diomedio P. Villanueva	October 22, 2000	March 17, 2001	146 days	Joseph Estrada Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
42		Lieutenant General Jaime S. De los Santos	March 17, 2001	April 2, 2002	1 year, 16 days	Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
43		Lieutenant General Dionisio R. Santiago	April 2, 2002	November 14, 2002	226 days	Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
44		Lieutenant General Gregorio M. Camiling, Jr.	November 14, 2002	January 6, 2003	53 days	Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
45		Lieutenant General Efren L. Abu	January 6, 2003	November 3, 2004	1 year, 302 days	Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
46		Lieutenant General Generoso S. Senga	November 3, 2004	August 17, 2005	287 days	Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
47		Lieutenant General Hermogenes C. Esperon Jr.	August 17, 2005	July 22, 2006	339 days	Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
48		Lieutenant General Romeo P. Tolentino	July 22, 2006	August 24, 2007	1 year, 33 days	Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
49		Lieutenant General Alexander B. Yano	August 24, 2007 [2]	May 12, 2008	262 days	Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
50		Lieutenant General Victor S. Ibrado	May 12, 2008 [3]	May 4, 2009	1 year, 33 days	Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
51		Lieutenant General Delfin N. Bangit	May 4, 2009 [4]	March 12, 2010	312 days	Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
52		Lieutenant General Reynaldo B. Mapagu	March 12, 2010 [5]	July 23, 2010	133 days	Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
53		Lieutenant General Arturo B. Ortiz (born 1955)	July 23, 2010 [6]	November 10, 2011	1 year, 110 days	Benigno S. Aquino III
54		Lieutenant General Emmanuel T. Bautista (born 1961)	November 10, 2011 [7]	January 22, 2013	1 year, 73 days	Benigno S. Aquino III
55		Lieutenant General Noel A. Coballes (born 1958)	January 22, 2013 [8]	February 7, 2014	1 year, 16 days	Benigno S. Aquino III
56		Lieutenant General Hernando Delfin Carlo A. Iriberri (born 1961)	February 7, 2014 [9]	July 15, 2015	1 year, 158 days	Benigno S. Aquino III
57		Lieutenant General Eduardo Año (born 1961)	July 15, 2015 [9]	December 7, 2016	1 year, 145 days	Benigno S. Aquino III Rodrigo Duterte
58		Lieutenant General Glorioso Miranda (born 1961)	December 7, 2016 [10]	October 5, 2017	302 days	Rodrigo Duterte
59		Lieutenant General Rolando Joselito D. Bautista (born 1962)	October 5, 2017 [11]	October 15, 2018	1 year, 10 days	Rodrigo Duterte
60		Lieutenant General Macairog S. Alberto (born 1963)	October 15, 2018 [12][13][14][15]	December 6, 2019	1 year, 52 days	Rodrigo Duterte
61		Lieutenant General Gilbert Gapay (born 1965)	December 6, 2019 [16][17][18][19][20]	August 3, 2020	241 days	Rodrigo Duterte

Chiefs of the Army

No.	Portrait	Chief	Took office	Left office	Time in office	President
61		Lieutenant General Gilbert Gapay (born 1965)	December 6, 2019 [16][17][18][19][20]	August 3, 2020	241 days	Rodrigo Duterte
62		Sobejana, CirilitoLieutenant General Cirilito Sobejana (born 1965)	August 4, 2020	Incumbent	10 days	Rodrigo Duterte

See also

• Armed Forces of the Philippines
• Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines
• Philippine Army

References

1. Mangosing, Frances (July 13, 2020). "PH military adopting new titles: Chief of staff now Joint Chiefs Chair". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
2. Mananghaya, James (22 August 2007). "Yano named next Army chief". The Philippine Star. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
3. "New Philippine Army chief named". ABS-CBN News. 6 May 2008. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
4. Laude, Jaime; Mananghaya, James (15 April 2009). "Ibrado named AFP chief; Bangit gets Army". The Philippine Star. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
5. "Mapagu takes over Army chief". ABS-CBN News. 12 March 2010. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
6. "Noynoy names bemedalled Ortiz as new Army chief". GMA News. 20 July 2010. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
7. Glenda M. Gloria (7 November 2011). "Young general is new Army chief". Rappler. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
8. Frances Mangosing (22 January 2013). "Coballes is new Army chief at 'challenging and delicate' time". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
9. William Depasupil (7 February 2014). "Iriberri is new Army chief". The Manila Times. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
10. Frances Mangosing (9 December 2016). "Miranda named as acting Army chief". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
11. Carmela Fonbuena (4 October 2017). "Marawi general is next Army chief". Rappler. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
12. "AFP's top spy is new Army chief". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 2019-11-04.
13. "AFP welcomes Alberto as new PH Army commanding general". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved 2019-11-04.
14. "Top military intelligence officer is next Army chief". CNN Philippines. 2018-10-11. Retrieved 2019-11-04.
15. "CGPA promoted to three star rank". Philippine Army Website. Retrieved 2019-11-04.
16. Ranada, Pia. "Southern Luzon commander is new Army chief". Rappler. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
17. "Ex-Solcom chief named new Philippine Army commander". GMA News. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
18. "Gapay takes over as new Army chief". GMA News. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
19. Gotinga, J. C. "New Army chief Gapay officially takes command of 'growing' force". Rappler. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
20. Rafer, PFC Ma Florence D. "New Army Commanding General assumes position". Philippine Army Website. Retrieved 12 December 2019.

External links

• Lineage of the Philippine Army Commanding Generals