Hanoi (VNA) - The Presidential Office of the Philippines on January9 announced that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has chosen a former military chiefwho led the country’s fight against the coronavirus as his new defenseminister.
Carlito Galvez, 60, headed the Philippines’ COVID-19task force and was the leader of the military's Western Mindanao Command in 2017.
He replaces Jose Faustino, whose resignation as actingdefence chief was announced by the president’s office, without providing areason.
Galvez, who served as armed forces chief in 2018, willbe responsible for protecting the Philippines maritime territory and itsexclusive economic zone.
The defence ministry has been pushing to modernise themilitary and upgrade its outdated air and sea assets./.