RP appoints Senga as new military chief

RP appoints Senga as new military chief

PHILIPPINES: Generoso Senga, a general who commanded troops fighting Moro rebels in the troubled southern Philippines, took over on Monday as the military's eighth chief of staff in less than five years.

The Philippines is a staunch ally of Washington in the war on terror but its armed forces are poorly equipped, undermined by corruption and riven with discontent that has spawned more than a dozen attempted coups in the last two decades.

Senga, speaking at the ceremony marking his appointment, vowed to push through with efforts to reorganize and streamline the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

"The AFP's transformation at this point is not so much the modernization of equipment and arms to match those of more advanced countries. We cannot afford it anyway," he said.

"The transformation that we need today is in changing the way we, soldiers and leaders, think about the challenges and opportunities presented to us by the program for reform." -- Reuters