Draft law in the works to extend military retirement age to 60 or 65

DEFENSE SECRETARY Delfin N. Lorenzana said they are now crafting a law that would extend the retirement age of potential chief-of-staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to 60 or 65 years old from the current 56. With the extension, AFP chiefs would be able to serve up to three years in the top post instead of the average six months. “Some people are saying that chief-of-staff for three years is too long. If you look at the officers in the other countries especially in PaCom [US Indo-Pacific Command], the average days of a PaCom commander is I think 1,300 days which is about three years. I think this is good and will be good for the organization,” said Mr. Lorenzana. — Vince Angelo C. Ferreras