The Military Ordinariate of the Philippines welcomed the appointment of Philippine Army chief Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana as the next chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
“I am just happy for him because I guess he is fit for his position as [chief of staff],” said Bishop Oscar Jaime Florencio, head of the Military Ordinariate.
“I have met him few times while he was in Mindanao, and I have heard many things of his accomplishments,” added the bishop.
President Rodrigo Duterte appointed Sobejana as the next chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines this week.
Sobejana succeeds Gen. Gilbert Gapay who will retire in February upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 56.
Gapay assumed his post in August last year, replacing Gen. Felimon Santos Jr.
Just like Gapay, Sobejana will also have a short stint as military chief. He will retire on July 31.
Sobejana has served as commander of the Western Mindanao Command since June 2019. He is a member of the Philippine Military Academy “Hinirang” Class of 1987.
He is known to his superiors, peers, and subordinates as a “warrior with the heart of a peacemaker.”
He earned the Medal of Valor, the highest military honor that can be bestowed to a soldier for conspicuous and singular act of gallantry above and beyond the call of duty.
