Defense Sec. Gilberto Teodoro is extremely bothered over the delayed promotion of his generals amid intense infighting among the Senate’s ruling-class factions. The June 1 session boycott by the faction led by Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano halted all key Senate tasks, including the formation of the Commission on Appointments tasked to deliberate on these promotions.

“It is not surprising that amid many urgent issues of the people, such as the delay in holding Sara Duterte and corrupt officials accountable, Teodoro is chiefly preoccupied with the promotion and retirement of spoiled and fascist generals,” Communist Party of the Philippines chief information officer Marco L. Valbuena said.

Teodoro is pushing to quickly install new generals in commands set up in line with the Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept (CADC), a defense plan tied to the US strategic plan in the Indo-Pacific. Their appointments’ expiration requires repeating the process of submitting their names to the president, nomination by Ferdinand Marcos Jr, and rescheduling in the Senate. Teodoro prodded Marcos to arrange a special Senate session to avoid this scenario.

Reports say the five generals set for promotion hold high positions in specialized units created by Teodoro such as the Cyber Command and Joint Integrative Forces. One of them is set to retire. If his promotion is not confirmed, his lower rank will be used in determining his pension and benefits.

AFP generals’ pensions range from ₱91,000 per month at the lowest (1-Star) to ₱150,000-₱180,000+ per month at the highest (4-Star). This excludes additional allowances and anomalous “send-off” packages given to favored retiring generals.

Because of the recent double increase in salaries of military and uniformed personnel, the pensions of their retirees also automatically rose. This is despite the fact that they do not contribute a single centavo to the pension fund. They are unlike other government employees whose monthly salaries are automatically deducted for pension contributions.