Who is he?

Retired Major General Delfin Lorenzana has served as presidential representative and head of the Office of Veterans Affairs at the Philippine Embassy in Washington since 2013. He previously held the same position under then-president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in 2004. While in the military, he served as commander of the Special Operations Command and as military attaché to the Philippine Embassy in Washington. Lorenzana graduated from the Philippine Military Academy in 1973, and retired from the army in October 2004.

Why is he in the news?

President-elect Rodrigo Duterte on May 31 announced Lorenzana will be his secretary of national defense when the new administration takes office on June 30. Duterte had earlier offered the post to Gilberto Teodoro Jr., who served as defense secretary under the Arroyo administration, but he declined.

What can we expect from him?

Observers concerned by the Duterte administration’s overtures towards China will be comforted by Lorenzana’s appointment, a signal that the Philippines still values its alliance with the United States. Lorenzana spent over a decade in Washington, and has said that the implementation of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement between the Philippines and the United States will proceed under his watch.

As a veteran combat officer who has fought communist rebels and separatists in Mindanao, Lorenzana has experience dealing with insurgent groups. This experience will be essential in the push to eliminate the Abu Sayyaf group notorious for kidnappings in the southern Philippines. He will also need to redouble efforts on the Armed Forces Philippines’ modernization program, a 1995 initiative reintroduced under President Aquino that looks to develop the lackluster Philippine military into a credible fighting force.

 

Thumbnail image of the Embassy of the Philippines in the United States, where Delfin Lorenzana has worked since 2013. Source: Wikimedia user Aaron Siirila, used under a creative commons license.