MANILA — About 7 to 9 senior officials of the Department of National Defense (DND) have filed courtesy resignations following the exit of former officer-in-charge Jose Faustino Jr.

DND spokesperson Arsenio Andolong on Tuesday said the resigned officials held undersecretary and assistant secretary positions, pointing out that the move was “procedural” for coterminous appointees in the government.

“We already went into the transition process and as is normal and procedural in the government, all of the coterminous appointees tendered their courtesy resignations [on Monday]," he said.

Andolong said DND operations continue to be normal and that they were waiting for newly appointed Defense Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. to take office.

“Tuluy-tuloy pa rin ang operations. You’ll see here, everything is still running. Nagtataka nga kami na noong Saturday why that bit of news surfaced pero normal naman kami dito at hindi naapektuhan,” he said.

(Our operations continue... We were puzzled why that bit of news surfaced on Saturday, even when our operations are normal and unaffected.)

“In fact, all of the operations in the field are proceeding as normal. We have not had any adverse reports from the field and our commanders. Everything is just as it was last week before the turnover of the chief of staff. Here in the DND, we’re proceeding with all our business and still continuing to provide resources and support to the AFP."

Andolong said morale remained high among troops of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and DND employees as they were no strangers to successive resignations.

“In the past, we’ve had such things happen already and it has not affected the morale and welfare of our troops and employees in the DND. The AFP is a really professional organization and it will run regardless of who commands the AFP; it’s the same for the DND. It’s a well-honed machinery already and whoever is appointed the SND, the entire executive staff and personnel will support,” he added.

Faustino formally resigned from the DND on Friday, after learning of the return of Gen. Andres Centino as AFP chief of staff "only from news and social media reports."

Malacañang said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. accepted his resignation on Monday, and announced Galvez as Faustino's successor.

"Fully cognizant of the selfless sacrifice and courage of our troops and civilian human resources, I cannot allow the AFP’s reputation to be tarnished, maligned, or politicized," Faustino said in a statement, without going into further details.

"I wish nothing but the best for our country, our people, and our President. It was an honor to have had the opportunity to serve the Filipino people in my former capacity as officer-in-charge of the DND," he added.

Faustino's exit came amid rumors of an alleged destabilization plot against the Marcos Jr. administration, which have since been denied by the AFP and the Philippine National Police (PNP).

• Faustino resigns as Defense chief, to be replaced by Galvez

— with a report from Raffy Cabristante, ABS-CBN News

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