Duterte skips Armed Forces turnover of command; Clement assumes post

Credit to Author: Tempo Desk| Date: Wed, 25 Sep 2019 05:48:37 +0000

NEW Armed Forces chief Lt. Gen. Noel Clement (right) and outgoing counterpart Gen. Benjamin Madrigal shake hands during the change of command ceremony in Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City. (AP)

President Duterte was sick and absent in the assumption of Lt. Gen. Noel Clement as the chief of the 148,000-strong Armed Forces of the Philippines and the retirement honors for his predecessor, Gen. Benjamin Madrigal Jr., in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City last Tuesday.

It was the first time that Duterte skipped the change of command ceremony for his Armed Forces chief, said Col. Noel Detoyato, AFP public affairs chief.

Clement is the 52nd AFP chief and the sixth in the Duterte administration.

According to presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo, the “punishing schedule” of the President in the previous days “slightly affected” his body temperature.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana presided the change of comma
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