Who is Eduardo Oban Jr.?

Former Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Eduardo Oban Jr. is the new National Security Adviser (NSA) following Eduardo Año’s retirement from the post due to health reasons.

But who is Oban?

In 2011, then President Benigno Aquino III appointed Oban as the AFP’s 42nd chief of staff.

He also headed the Clark Development Corp. (CDC) in 2012 and the Visiting Forces Agreement Commission in 2014.

Oban, who is a member of Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Class of 1979, also served as vice commander of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) and as the AFP deputy chief of staff.

He graduated from the University of Santo Tomas (UST) for higher education and earned his master’s degree in business economics at the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P).

Oban is a former instructor pilot and previously served as special assistant to former trade minister Roberto Ongpin and then defense official Juan Ponce Enrile during the administration of former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr.

One of the most notable episodes in his military career was his role in the 2003 Oakwood mutiny, where he helped negotiate the surrender of the Magdalo group, which seized a building in Makati City to protest alleged corruption in the military. — JMA, GMA News