President Rodrigo Duterte has appointed Lt. Gen. Gilbert I. Gapay as the incoming chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana shared on Wednesday to the media a copy of Gapay's appointment paper, dated July 28.

Gapay will replace Gen. Felimon T. Santos Jr., who will retire on August 4 when he reaches 56 years old, the mandatory retirement age of men in uniform.

Duterte's appointment paper, however, stated that Gapay's appointment as the new AFP chief is effective August 3.

Currently, Gapay is the commanding general of the Philippine Army.

He is a member of the Philippine Military Academy "Sinagtala" Class of 1986. Celerina Monte/DMS