Generals caught in Senate ‘war’ finally get long-awaited promotion

The five generals caught in the Senate’s leadership war have finally secured their promotions.

After weeks of delays brought about by the paralysis in the Senate, five senior officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines were finally confirmed by the Commission on Appointments (CA) during a special session on Wednesday, June 17.

Confirmed were Edmund Peralta as lieutenant general, Alan Javier as vice admiral, Isagani Criste as major general, Niceforo Diaz Jr. as brigadier general, and Rosemawatte Remo as brigadier general. The promotions of 85 officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs were also approved.

But the general’s promotions did not pass without an issue.

Senator Rodante Marcoleta questioned the legality of the officers’ confirmations, citing Section 1 of Republic Act No. 11939. Under the law, an officer being promoted to brigadier general, commodore, or a higher rank must generally have at least one year of active service remaining before reaching mandatory retirement age.

During the hearing, Marcoleta even asked Peralta for his birth date.

“May 14, 1970,” Peralta replied.

“Meaning to say, you already reached the age of 56, and you were bypassed upon sine die adjournment on June 3,” Marcoleta said. Peralta affirmed.

Marcoleta pointed out that Peralta and the other four officials up for promotions also faced the same dilemma.

Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, however, came to the officers’ defense.

Lacson, a former national police chief, argued that the ad interim appointments were merely resubmissions of appointments already issued before the resumption of the regular session on May 25, 2026, making the promotions valid despite the delay.

“Hindi naman nila kasalanan na nagkagulo-gulo kami sa Senado at hindi na-take up yung kanilang confirmation,” Lacson said. (It’s not their fault that things got chaotic in the Senate and their confirmation was not taken up.)

Lacson added that the special session was effectively a continuation of the regular session, and moved for the confirmation of the five officers.

Marcoleta remained unconvinced.

He blamed the Senate leadership for declaring sine die adjournment without ensuring that the CA would act on the pending promotions. Marcoleta was referring to the leadership of Senator Win Gatchalian, who was Senate president pro tempore at the time, and has now been elected Senate president.

Days before, Gatchalian took over the Senate leadership and Marcoleta, along with several of his allies skipped multiple Senate sessions during the leadership dispute, contributing to the lack of quorum that stalled Senate business — including the CA’s work on the generals’ promotions.

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Adding another layer to the blame game, the Senate under Alan Peter Cayetano’s presidency had also failed to organize the CA itself before adjournment.

So who really held up the generals’ promotions?

Despite his objections, Marcoleta stressed that his questions were not directed at the officers themselves.

“I have nothing against the five officers subject of today’s confirmation,” he said. “I thank them for the gallantry and service to our nation.” He added that he was “just trying to make a point” that probably inadvertently backfired.

Yet to Marcoleta, he was just following the law. Was he, truly? – Rappler.com