Emmanuel T Bautista

Early years and education

Bautista was born in Quezon City on 20 July 1958. Following the footsteps of his father, the late BGen Teodulfo Bautista, he entered the Philippine Military Academy in 1976. He graduated 7th out of the 161 cadets belonging to the PMA Class of 1981, and was the recipient of the JUSMAG Saber award; the Commanding General, Philippine Army award; and the Distinguished Cadet Award.

Upon his graduation from the PMA, he attended further military training which include the Scout Ranger, Infantry Officer Advance, and Command and General Staff courses. He also went to various military trainings abroad, namely Grade II Staff & Tactics Course in New Zealand, Joint & Combined Warfighting at the Joint Forces Staff College, National Defense University in the United States of America, Security Sector Reform at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, Hawaii USA, Symposium on East Asia Security by the US State Department and United States Pacific Command, and Senior Executive Seminar at the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies, Germany. He also holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of the Philippines, Diliman.

Philippine Army

Bautista was assigned as a platoon leader of the 26th Infantry Battalion in Mindanao; Company commander of the 7th Scout Ranger Company; Battalion commander of the 24th Infantry Battalion; the Brigade commander of the 702nd Infantry Brigade in Central Luzon; and as the Commanding general of the 3rd Infantry Division in Western Visayas.

He held several staff positions in both the Philippine Army and the General Headquarters, AFP. He assumed the positions of Chief of Staff of the 7th Infantry Division, PA; Chief of Staff of the Special Operations Command, PA; Secretary Army General Staff; and Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations, G3, PA. He also served as Senior Military Adviser to the Secretary of National Defense; Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans, J5, AFP; and The Internal Auditor, AFP.

In 2010, Bautista served as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, J3, AFP. As the J3, he led the crafting of the AFP Internal Peace and Security Plan (IPSP) "Bayanihan". IPSP "Bayanihan" introduced a paradigm shift in the AFP from "defeating the enemy" to "winning the peace" with utmost emphasis on respect for human rights, international humanitarian law, rule of law, and multi-stakeholder engagement.

On 9 November 2011, Bautista assumed command of the 85,000-strong Philippine Army during a critical period in the organization's reform. Under his leadership, the Philippine Army furthered its pursuit of the Army Transformation Roadmap (ATR). The ATR is a transformation program founded on good governance and performance excellence. During his command, the Philippine Army stabilized its transformation, raised levels of troop discipline and professionalism, developed capabilities and enhanced training, and focused on stakeholder engagements and peace building efforts.

AFP Chief of Staff

On 17 January 2013, Bautista was appointed by President Benigno Aquino III as the 44th Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. His leadership of the AFP was anchored on the fulfillment of its constitutional mandate through the Internal Peace and Security Plan "Bayanihan" and its pursuit of Security Sector Reform initiatives through the Armed Forces of the Philippines Transformation Roadmap. He retired from military service on 18 July 2014.

In February 2014, Bautista garnering praise from Filipino netizens for sending a helicopter to the aid of victims of a bus crash in Mountain Province upon the request of RockEd Philippines founder Gang Badoy, who unknowingly named the AFP Chief of Staff "Manny Sundalo" in her cellphone's directory.

Awards and achievements

Bautista is a recipient of several military and civilian distinctions, seven of which are combat decorations. His military awards include seven Distinguished Service Stars, a Gold Cross for gallantry in action, a Bronze Cross Medal for bravery, a Philippine Legion of Honor with the degree of an Officer, a Philippine Legion of Honor with the degree of Commander as the Commanding General, Philippine Army, and a Philippine Legion of Honor with the degree of Chief Commander as Chief of Staff, Armed Forces of the Philippines. He also received four Outstanding Achievement Medals, 29 Military Merit Medals, several Military Commendation Medals and various military campaign medals and ribbons. In 2014, Bautista was also conferred the Honorary Malaysian Armed Forces Order for Valour, Warrior of the Malaysian Armed Forces for his contributions in strengthening bilateral ties and fostering mutual cooperation between the Malaysian Armed Forces and the Armed Forces of the Philippines. He was also awarded the Bintang Yudha Dharma Utama "The Grand Meritorious Military Order – 1st Class" by the Republic of Indonesia, the highest award given to those serving in foreign armed services.

Bautista also earned a number of recognitions from local government officials during his various tours of duty and from national civilian agencies with which the units he commanded worked together in pursuit of peace and national development goals. He received an outstanding alumni award from the Philippine Military Academy as well as from the University of the Philippines College of Business Administration. He was also conferred with the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies Alumnus of the Year for 2013 for his contribution to reform the security sector of the Philippines. In 2014, he was awarded the University of the Philippines Distinguished Alumni Award for Peace and Social Cohesion. He was also awarded the CEO Excel Award for top business and organizational leaders by the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Philippines. In June 2016, President Aquino conferred the Presidential Medal of merit to Bautista for his immense contribution in the security arrangements for APEC 2015 and the visit of Pope Francis in 2015. Bautista was also inducted into the International Hall of Fame of the National Defense University and also of the Joint Forces Staff College, USA in August 2016.

Bautista is married to Bernardita Pardo Bautista; they have a son, Paolo.