Jose Calingasan Faustino Jr. (born November 12, 1965) is a retired

Philippine Army The Philippine Army (PA) () is the main, oldest and largest branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), responsible for ground warfare. , it had an estimated strength of 143,100 soldiers The service branch was established on December ...

general who previously served as Senior Undersecretary and officer-in-charge of the

Department of National Defense A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

. He previously served as the 56th

Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines The Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (CSAFP) is the highest-ranking military officer (except for the President of the Philippines, who holds the position of Commander-in-Chief equivalent to a five-star general) and the he ...

from July to November 2021 and was controversially designated the Acting

Commanding General of the Philippine Army The Commanding General of the Philippine Army (CGPA) is the overall commander and highest ranking officer commissioned to serve in the Philippine Army. The position concurrently holds the three-star rank of Lieutenant General. The commanding ...

from February to May 2021 during the

presidency of Rodrigo Duterte Rodrigo Duterte's six-year tenure as the List of presidents of the Philippines, 16th President of the Philippines began Inauguration of Rodrigo Duterte, on June 30, 2016, succeeding Benigno Aquino III. He was the first president from Mindanao ...

Early life and education

Faustino was born on November 12, 1965, in

Itogon Itogon, officially the Municipality of Itogon, (; ), is a municipality in the province of Benguet, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 61,498 people. Itogon is a mining town, being the site of the first large-sc ...

Benguet Benguet (), officially the Province of Benguet ('';'' ; ; ; ), is a landlocked Provinces of the Philippines, province of the Philippines located in the southern tip of the Cordillera Administrative Region in the island of Luzon. Its capital cit ...

, and grew up in

Malolos Malolos , officially the City of Malolos (), is a component city and capital of the province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 261,189 people. It is the capital city of the province of Bulacan as the ...

Bulacan Bulacan, officially the Province of Bulacan (; ; ; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon Regions of the Philippines, region. Its capital is the city of Malolos. Bulacan was established on ...

. He is the son of retired Philippine Army colonel, Jose Faustino Sr. Faustino entered the

Philippine Military Academy The Philippine Military Academy ( / ) also referred to by its acronym PMA is the premier military academy for Filipinos aspiring for a commission as a military officer of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). It was established on Decembe ...

in 1983 and graduated as part of the Maringal Class of 1988. After graduation, he undertook various military, leadership and staff courses both locally and abroad. He ranked 2nd of his class in the Scout Ranger Course and serves as a qualified member of the

1st Scout Ranger Regiment The Scout Rangers, known officially as the First Scout Ranger Regiment, is a special operations forces of the Philippine Army (PA) that is specialized in combat patrols and scouting behind enemy lines in a special operations forces (SOF) style. ...

and the

Special Forces Special forces or special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

. He also finished at the top of his class in the Infantry Officer Basic and Advanced Infantry Officer courses at the

National Defense College of the Philippines The National Defense College of the Philippines (NDCP; ) is an educational, training, and research agency of the Philippine government located inside Camp General Emilio Aguinaldo, Quezon City. It is responsible for providing continued and ...

. Faustino completed the Command and General Staff Course at the Republic of Korea Army College and the United Nations Integrated Mission Staff Officers Course in

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Military career

Faustino served in various special forces, infantry, intelligence, and staff positions. As lieutenant, he was assigned to the

, and served as commander of the 7th Scout Ranger Company in 1992. He served as an intelligence and operations officer in the

, the Assistant Chief of Staff for Comptrollership of the Intelligence and Security Group, the Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence of 10th Infantry Division, the Deputy G2 of the Philippine Army, the Assistant Chief of Unified Command Staff for Intelligence of the National Capital Region Command, and the Assistant Chief of Staff for Education and Training of the Philippine Army. Faustino also undertook various academic posts at his alma-mater, the Philippine Military Academy, where he was named as the Administration and Tactical Officer of the Headquarters Tactics Group, as the Head of Tactics Group, and as the Commandant of Cadets. He served as the Commandant of Scout Ranger Training School of Camp Tecson in

San Miguel, Bulacan San Miguel, officially the Municipality of San Miguel (, kapampangan language, Kapampangan: ''Balen ning San Miguel''), is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Bulacan, Philippines. According ...

, and as the commander of the 11th Intelligence Service Unit, under the Intelligence and Security Group. Faustino assumed command of the 35th Infantry Battalion and then of the 501st Infantry Brigade. Faustino also served as the Chief of Staff of the Philippine Army, and became commander of the 10th Infantry Division. Under his leadership from December 2018 to January 2020, the 10th Infantry Division launched military operations against the

New People's Army The New People's Army (; abbreviated NPA or BHB) is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP). It acts as the CPP's principal organization, aiming to consolidate political power from what it sees as the present "bourgeo ...

, and dismantled Pulang Bagani commands and guerrilla fronts within the division's jurisdiction. In January 2020, he was named commander of the Eastern Mindanao Command, and served in this position until February 2021. He led the area's implementation of the Executive Order 70 continuing to instigate military operations against the

, while creating a nation-building approach in order to achieve long-lasting peace in the country and promoting community-building programs.

Acting Commanding General of the Philippine Army

In February 2021, Faustino was designated Acting

, upon the promotion of then Lieutenant General Cirilito Sobejana to

. He aimed to continue the modernization and reorganization programs of his predecessors, but his appointment even in an acting capacity was questioned by the

Commission on Appointments The Commission on Appointments (, abbreviated as CA) is a constitutional body which confirms or rejects certain political appointments made by the President of the Philippines. The current commission was created by the 1987 Constitution. Whil ...

, particularly by Senator

Panfilo Lacson Panfilo "Ping" Morena Lacson Sr. (; born June 1, 1948) is a Filipino politician who is a senator-elect of the Philippines. He is also a former police general who served as director general of the Philippine National Police (PNP) from 1999 to 2 ...

. During a confirmation hearing, Senator Lacson, citing Section 4 of the Republic Act No. 8186, read "no officer shall be assigned or designated to certain key positions including the Commanding General of the Philippine Army if he has less than one year of active service remaining prior to compulsory retirement at the age of 56." Shortly after, Faustino was removed from office and only served as acting commanding general for 87 days.

Joint Task Force Mindanao

After the retraction of his previous appointment, Faustino was named Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff on Peace and Development, but in June 2021, was named the inaugural commander of a newly formed working group, Joint Task Force Mindanao, intended to oversee the

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and

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Commands' military operations. He spearheaded the creation of the Mindanao Security and Stability Plan, boosting the military's peace efforts through former rebels assistance, livelihood, and regional development programs. Upon Faustino's promotion, no new commander has been named since and the joint task force was dissolved.

Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines

In July 2021, Faustino was appointed as the 56th

by President

Rodrigo Duterte Rodrigo Roa Duterte (, ; born March 28, 1945) is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He is the first Philippine president from Mindanao, and is the oldest person to assum ...

, again succeeding General Cirilito Sobejana. As chief, he proposed the creation of the Center for Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism, which would aim to further assist the armed forces' study on extremism and terrorism, and craft measures to prevent their ideologies from spreading throughout the country and the region. His appointment and concurring promotion to the rank of general was approved by the

in September 2021. Faustino retired from military service in November 2021 in compliance to the mandatory retirement at the age of 56.

Secretary of National Defense (2022–2023)

Appointment

In June 2022, President

Bongbong Marcos Ferdinand "Bongbong" Romualdez Marcos Jr. (, , ; born September 13, 1957), commonly referred to by the initials BBM or PBBM, is a Filipino politician who has served as the 17th president of the Philippines since 2022. He is the second child ...

named Faustino Senior Undersecretary of the

. Republic Act No. 11709, Section 18 bans the appointment of a retired military officer as Secretary of National Defense within one year from the date of their retirement. The retired general is expected to assume the position of secretary in November 2022, pending confirmation from the

. In the absence of a secretary, Senior Undersecretary Faustino is designated as officer-in-charge of the

Awards from military service

Faustino has received the following awards: Right Side Badges and Other Awards: *

Scout Ranger Qualification Badge Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...

Presidential Security Group The Presidential Security Command (PSC), known from 1986 to 2024 as the Presidential Security Group (PSG), is a Philippine close protection agency. It is the primary agency concerned with providing close-in security and escort to the Presiden ...

Badge * Special Forces Qualification Badge * Army Aviation Badge

Personal life

Faustino's nickname by his peers is Boy. With his wife Joy, he has one daughter.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Faustino, Jose Jr. 1965 births Living people Chiefs of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Philippine Army generals Bongbong Marcos administration cabinet members Duterte administration personnel Philippine Military Academy alumni People from Benguet Secretaries of national defense of the Philippines