The reappointment of Gen. Andres Centino as the chief of staff is at the discretion of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr as commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), a spokesman said Sunday.

Centino, who was appointed by then President Rodrigo Duterte as AFP chief of staff in November 2021 until August 2022 when he was replaced by Lt. Gen. Bartolome Vicente Bacarro, was reappointed to his former post on Friday.

Centino formally assumed his position on Saturday.

In an interview with dzBB, Aguilar said: “That (Centino's appointment) is at the discretion of the Commander-in-Chief. What is important in the organization is its professionalism because we know we have to be united and we can’t do our duties if we are divided.”

“Securing a position is not only physical but also psychological. That’s why the public should know the truth. Our Chief of Staff only wishes for the safety of the people so that they won’t be alarmed,” he added.

He said Bacarro would not retire as a four-star general because the law does not allow two four-star generals in the AFP.

Aguilar said the AFP will leave the investigation of the source of the false memos to the Philippine National Police. The supposed memos said police are on high alert due to the resignation of Department of National Defense (DND) personnel.

“The memo did not come from us and the PNP themselves said (they) disproved the memo. So they’re the ones who will investigate because of the title on the letterhead. It’s appropriate that they will conduct a probe to find out where this comes from,” Aguilar said. Jaspearl Tan/DMS