Co-Sponsorship Speech: Confirmation of Appointment of Gen. Eduardo Manahan Año

Co-Sponsorship Speech of Senator Loren Legarda
Confirmation of Appointment of
Gen. Eduardo Manahan Año
48th Chief of Staff, Armed Forces of the Philippines

Mr. President,

I have the honor to co-sponsor the confirmation of the ad interim appointment of General Eduardo Manahan Año as the 48th Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Our appointee is a man of many firsts and a bemedalled military officer. He is a seasoned combat and intelligence officer who has gone thru the ladder of military career advancement.

He placed first when he finished both the Infantry Officer Basic Course and the Infantry Officer Advance Course at the Combat Arms School Training Command of the Philippine Army in Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija. He was also first place when he completed the Command and General Staff Course at the Command and General Staff College in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City. Likewise, he placed first, earning a perfect rating of 100%, when he took the International Officer Intelligence Course at the US military training school in Fort Huachuca, Arizona in 1993.

Throughout his career, General Año has always been at the forefront in his duty. In the infantry, he was the Battalion Commander of the 76th Infantry Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division, Philippine Army in 2004 and earned his star in the battlefield as Brigade Commander of the 201st Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Philippine Army from 2010 to 2012.

He briefly served as the Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence in 2012 and eventually took the helm of the highest Intelligence post in the AFP as Chief of the Intelligence Service Armed Forces of the Philippines from 2012 to 2014 prior to his assumption as the Commander of the 10th Infantry Division, Philippine Army from 2014 to 2015.

General Año is the recipient of prestigious recognitions including numerous Gold Cross Medals, four Distinguished Service Stars, the Philippine Legion of Honor, and the most coveted Philippine Military Academy Cavalier Award in recognition as outstanding PMA Alumnus in the field of Army operations in 1996.

But beyond these awards and meritorious achievements, the most important thing to look at is the General’s character. He is known for his courage and great determination and is an inspiration to the uniformed community and colleagues.

General Año is a devout family man. He is a loving husband to Ms. Jean Joselyn Maria Dioso Año, who hails from Pandan, Antique, my fellow Antiqueña, and a caring father to their four children and two grandchildren.

Finally, I salute the General for affirming his continued commitment as a servant of the people dreaming of greater things for the military organization and for the nation, and for declaring that the AFP will uphold and respect the primacy of peace but will remain to be a “lethal force” fully capable of destroying any threat to the nation.

Mr. President, it is for these reasons that I move that the ad interim appointment of General Eduardo Manahan Año as the 48th Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines be confirmed.

Thank you.