President Ferdinand Marcos Jr named Lt.Gen. Bartolome Bacarro, who won the Valor of Medal as a 2nd lieutenant, as the new chief-of-staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Monday.

He also selected Lt. Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr. to head the Philippine National Police (PNP), said Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles.

Bacarro replaces Gen. Andres Centino while Azurin will take over from Lt. Gen. Vicente Danao. Bacarro gets a three-year fixed term as AFP chief of staff under a law signed by President Rodrigo Duterte.

Bacarro is the current chief of the AFP Southern Luzon Command (SOLCOM).

“The change of command for the new AFP chief of staff will be on August 8. This will give time for Gen. Bacarro to wind down at the SOLCOM and provide him with the transition to his new position in Camp Aguinaldo,” Cruz-Angeles said.

Bacarro was a graduate of the Philippine Military Academy Class 1988.

Angeles said Centino, a classmate of Bacarro in PMA, is slated for a new post befitting a former chief of staff.

A graduate of Philippine Military Academy Class of 1989, Azurin is the commander of the Northern Luzon Police Area composed of the regions of Ilocos (Region 1), Cagayan Valley (Region 2), Central Luzon (Region 3) and the Cordillera Administrative Region. DMS