Camp Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, Quezon City

22 April 2016

President Benigno S. Aquino III personally expressed his appreciation to the Department of National Defense and the Armed Forces for supporting him throughout his term during the retirement ceremonies for outgoing Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff General Hernando DCA Iriberri and Change of Command ceremony held at the AFP General Headquarters Grandstand in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.

General Hernando Iriberri was replaced by Lieutenant General Glorioso Miranda, who will serve as acting Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces.

In his speech, President Aquino thanked Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, officers and all servicemen of the Philippine Army, Air Force and Navy who served him during his administration.

The President also acknowledged the outgoing Chief-of-Staff’s professionalism and dedication that marks the trait of a Filipino soldier. His accomplishments include the arrests and the neutralization of high value targets like the Moroccan bomb instructor Mohammed Khattab and Maria Concepcion Bocala of the New People’s Army. Iriberri also had a role on the transformation of the AFP Roadmap for 2013-2028.

The Commander-in-Chief acknowledged General Iriberri’s services in the AFP by conferring him the “Philippine Legion of Honor” Award with the rank of Chief Commander for his meritorious conduct as Chief of Staff of the AFP.

The award was in recognition for his implementation of the internal Peace and Security Plan Bayanihan, which thwarted the possible intrusion of the ISIS-linked group, his role in the AFP’s institutionalization and recognition of its humanitarian assistance and disaster response capability, the upgrade and AFP modernization and the successful conduct of the organization during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in 2015.

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