Lieutenant General Romeo Brawner, Commanding General of the Philippine Army, will be the next Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). This was announced by Malacañang through the Presidential Communications Office. He will take the place of General Andres Centino who was re-appointed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Centino will be appointed as Presidential Adviser on the West Philippine Sea.
It can be recalled that LtGen Brawner supervised combat operations that resulted to the decisive neutralization of Jorge Madlos or “Ka Oris,” the Commander of the National Operations Command of the New People’s Army during his tenure as the Commander of the 4th Infantry “Diamond” Division based in Camp Evangelista in Cagayan de Oro City prior to his appointment as Army Chief. A graduate of the Philippine Military Academy “Makatao” Class of 1989, he has served the military in various capacities for 34 years now.
Among his previous designations in the military were: Company Commander of the 6th Special Forces Company; Battalion Commander of the 2nd Special Forces Battalion; Operations Officer of the Special Forces Regiment (Airborne); Chief of Staff of the 6th Infantry “Kampilan” Division; Chief, Public Affairs of the Philippine Army; Spokesperson of the Armed Forces of the Philippines; Commander of the Civil-Military Operations Regiment; and Brigade Commander of the 103rd Infantry Brigade during the aftermath of the Marawi Siege in 2017. LtGen Brawner also previously served as the Commandant of the Cadets in the Philippine Military Academy, where he played an important role in the total eradication of hazing and maltreatment in the Cadet Corps. Later on, he served as the first Deputy Chief of Staff for Financial Management, J10, Armed Forces of the Philippines.
He exemplified the highest levels of excellence in his military schoolings, topping his classes in the Special Forces Operations Course, Intelligence Officer Course, and the AFP Comptrollership Course.
LtGen Brawner has acquired three (3) Master’s Degrees: Master’s in Information Management from the Ateneo de Manila University; Master’s in Business Administration from the Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand and from the European School of Management, Oxford, United Kingdom; and Master’s in Strategic Studies from the United States Army War College (USAWC).
