The congressional Commission on Appointments (CA) confirmed Wednesday the nominations of newly-named Commission on Audit (COA) Commissioner Mario Lipana and General Andres Centino as the 57th Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
Also confirmed by the CA were ad interim promotions of 16 other AFP senior officers promoted to the ranks of General, Lieutenant General, Major General and Brigadier Generals.
Lipana will serve as COA Commissioner until February 2, 2027.
At his confirmation hearing, Lipana vowed to fast track issuance of COA reports said to take one to two years to finish, adding this could be done by hiring additional certified public accountants (CPAs) and lawyers.
At the same time, the bicameral Appointments body, chaired by Senate President Vicente Sotto III, was given an assurance by COA chief Lipana that audit reports will be issued much earlier than previous practice taking one to two years.
At the hybrid confirmation hearing, administration Sen. Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go affirmed support and thanked AFP officers for ensuring public safety amid the pandemic.
For his part, first-term Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa reminded Centino to ensure the government’s anti-insurgency efforts stay on track given the several months left of the Duterte administration.
Centino, in turn, affirmed the AFP’s operational success in neutralizing rebels and guerilla fronts in efforts to clear barangays from influence of communist rebels.