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Philippines appoints Antonio Nafarrete to lead armed forces
The transition comes ahead of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region parliamentary election on September 14 and as maritime tensions with China continue.
The Philippines has appointed Lieutenant General Antonio G. Nafarrete as the next head of the Armed Forces, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr said, placing an officer with a long career in Mindanao in charge before a politically sensitive period in the Muslim south.
Nafarrete, 57, is set to replace General Romeo Brawner Jnr, whose three-year term ended Tuesday, according to SCMP Economy.
The appointment also lands as Mindanao prepares for its first parliamentary election in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, scheduled for September 14, SCMP Economy reported.
A defense and security analyst cited by SCMP Economy said Nafarrete’s roughly 36 years of combat experience across conflicts in the region may have supported his selection, and described the Bangsamoro election as critical to the future of peace in the south.