Philippine Army gets new commander

Lieutenant General Donald Gumiran took over as the commanding general of the 100,000-strong ground forces, replacing General Antonio Nafarrete, now the Armed Forces Chief of Staff.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. directed Lt. Gen. Donald M. Gumiran to build a capable Armed Forces that can respond to natural disasters and protect the nation’s sovereignty on Wednesday, August 11. Official handout.

Manuel Mogato | August 13 2026

MANILA — Armed Forces chief of staff, General Antonio Nafarrete, installed two Army commanders following his appointment as military chief, ushering in a new breed of commanders.

Lieutenant General Donald Gumiran took over as the commanding general of the 100,000-strong ground forces, replacing Nafarrete.

“I shall lead our Army with a clear purpose - to build a strong, more capable, and future-ready force,” Gumiran said at his assumption of command at Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City.

A member of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) class 1992, Gumiran said he will provide “leadership, guidance, and an enabling environment for us to succeed.”

“In unity, there is strength. Together, we shall set a clear direction to build a strong Army,” said Gumiran.

He urged Army soldiers to sustain the “great strides” in internal security efforts while preparing the military for external security threats.

“To this end, we will continuously improve our contingencies and continue to rehearse them through constant planning, training, exercises, and evaluations,” said Gumiran.

He also urged soldiers to ensure a “credible, orderly, and peaceful” conduct of the first parliamentary elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao on September 14.

In Cebu, Nafarrete installed Major General Peter Burgonio as the acting commander of the AFP Visayas Command (Viscom) in the central Philippines.

Burgonio took over from Lieutenant General Fernando Reyeg, who reached the retirement age of 57.

He will serve concurrently as the commander of the Army’s 8th Infantry Division based in Samar.

A member of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) class of 1993, assumed as 8th ID commander in November last year.

Before that, he was the former commander of the Presidential Security Command, which provides security to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his family.

Another PMA class 1993, Major General Arsenio Sadural, was installed commander of the 2nd Infantry Division in Tanay, Rizal. He was the former deputy chief of staff for training and education (J-8).