Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines

The Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, usually the only officer holding a rank of four-star general/admiral, is the head of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), including all service branches (Army, Navy–Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard — in Wartime Attached Service) under its command. He is also the highest-ranking military officer of the whole AFP, and appointed by, as well as directly reports to the President of the Philippines under Article VII, Section 18 of the 1987 Constitution. He also executes the President's commands, tactics, operations, plannings, and strategies, as well as serves as the Immediate Adviser to the Secretary of National Defense (Philippines) and prescribe directions to all commands (including The Commanding General of the Philippine Army, The Flag Officer-in-Command of the Philippine Navy, The Commanding General of the Philippine Air Force, and Unified Commands). Its direct equivalent in the United States Armed Forces is the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Unlike his/her United States counterpart which is merely supervisory, the AFP Chief of Staff oversees and has operational control over all military personnel of the Armed Forces.

The following is the list of Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (CSAFP). The Armed Forces of the Philippines were created as a result of the December 21, 1935 National Defense Act, Commonwealth Act No. 1. However, the origin of the organization can be traced back to the establishment of the Philippine Constabulary, armed Filipino forces organized in 1901 by the United States to combat the Philippine Revolutionary Forces then led by General Emilio Aguinaldo.

History
The position of the Chief of Staff has been traced from the Commanding General of the Philippine Army, when the Philippine Commonwealth Army (now The Philippine Army) was enstablished as the Main Army of the Commonwealth of the Philippines. After the defeat of the First Philippine Republic during the Philippine–American War, the United States dissolved the Army and relied on its Armed Forces together with some Filipino Troops under the Philippine Constabulary. However, under the National Defense Act of 1935, led to take on responsibilities on national defense, and led to the creation of three major commands (Army, Navy, Air Force). Since the 1960s, the rosters of the Chiefs of Staff is arranged accordingly.