MANILA, Philippines — Eduardo Oban Jr., the new national security adviser, is a retired Air Force general who once served as armed forces chief of staff under the administration of the late president Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III.

The 70-year-old Oban takes over Eduardo Año’s post nearly three years into the implementation of the Philippine military’s switch in focus from internal to external security, and just as the world’s superpowers are causing shifts in the decades-old rules-based order.

“With his depth of experience, the President is confident that Secretary ban will provide steady and capable leadership in advancing the country’s national security priorities and ensuring continuity in the governments efforts to keep the nation safe and secure,” said Undersecretary Claire Castro on Wednesday, April 15, in announcing Año’s retirement and Oban’s appointment.

The former Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief is no stranger to shifts in old systems. He was appointed military chief in 2011, just as corruption through a decades-old “pabaon” system — through which retiring officers would get millions in cash upon retirement — was exposed. A whistle-blower had also exposed the comptroller mafia in the armed forces, which controlled the military budget and the way it was released and spent to benefit the favored few.

Then-president Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III tasked Oban to change that system.

In his retirement speech in 2012, Oban said: “Mga kasama, gusto kong ipagmalaki natin na hindi ako nagbago sa posisyon ng chief of staff. Pumasok ako na Oban at lalabas pa rin na Oban, walang baon.” (My friends, I am proud to state that in my position as chief of staff, I did not change. I entered as Oban, I leave as Oban, without pocket money.)

Aquino later appointed him chair of the Clark Development Corporation (CDC), which CDC manages and develops the Clark Freeport and Special Economic Zone, a former US air base. He was then appointed to the transportation department as undersecretary for operations.

In 2014, Aquino picked Oban to be executive director of the Presidential Commission on the Visiting Forces Agreement (PCVF), a body tasked to monitor compliance of the Philippines’ military access deals with other countries.

When Oban was appointed to that post, the Philippines was just on the cusp of signing what is now the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) with the United States, which allows Washington to preposition its assets in mutually agreed upon Philippine military bases. Under Marcos, EDCA was expanded to include four new sites from the original five.

In 2022, Oban was elected director of insurance company Cocolife. According to the Cocolife website, Oban was chairman of Cocolife Asset Management Inc. and the funds — United Fund, Inc., Cocolife Fixed Income Fund, Inc. and Cocolife Dollar Fund Builder, Inc.

Oban has kept a relatively low profile since serving in the Aquino administration but has made his views known in a handful of key national events. In 2022, for instance, he endorsed the candidacy of Marcos’ chief electoral rival, losing presidential candidate Leni Robredo.

A new security, geopolitical landscape

Much has changed in the security and geopolitical landscape since Oban was last in government.

PCVF has since become an attached agency of the Department of Foreign Affairs, although the Office of the President retains oversight of the commission.

In 2014, the Philippines only had military visiting agreements with the US and Australia.

To date, the Philippines has also forged such agreements with Japan, New Zealand, Canada, and France — all signed under Marcos, whose administration has sought to expand the Philippines’ defense and security relationships.

All six countries are expected to send contingents to the upcoming Balikatan 2026, or the yearly war games between the US and the Philippines. The Philippines’ defense department is also in the process of negotiating a similar agreement with the United Kingdom. – Rappler.com