By LIEUTENANT COLONEL EDGARD A AREVALO PN(M)
Director, Naval Public Affairs Office
Wednesday, 01 September 2010
The Marines guarding polling precincts in a school in Patikul,
Sulu during the May 2010 elections who turned down the bribe
offered by campaign leaders and supporters were awarded the
Philippine Marine Corps Plaque. In a ceremony on 4 August 2010
at the Headquarters of Marine Battalion Landing Team 5 (MBLT-5)
in Brgy Buhanginan, Patikul, MGEN JUANCHO M SABBAN AFP, then
Commandant of the Philippine Marine Corps presented the award
to the team of 2LT MARCELO FLORES PN(M). 2LT Flores of MBLT-5
and his 15-men team were deployed to Kaumpang Elementary School
to provide security during the election on 10 May 2010.
The team of 2LT Flores were reportedly approached by campaign
leaders and supporters of local candidates and offered them money.
They wanted the Marines to leave the school to let the unscrupulous
politicians to fill up the remaining ballots for their favored
candidates. As narrated by Pfc Rhomel C Divina PN(M) who was posted
at the Maligay polling precinct, a campaign leader approached him
and offered him P100,000.00. In a true display of Marine discipline
and uprightness, Pfc Divina told turned down the offer saying “Hindi
mababayaran ng pera mo ang serbisyo ko.” Divina’s precinct had more
than 300 unfilled ballots.
In another instance, SSgt William C Magpili PN(M) who was posted at
the Baunoh Bangkal precinct was told “ Sarge kami na’ng bahala sa
inyo, ma fill upan lang ang natitirang balota.” SSgt Magpili also
turned down the offer. Over 100 ballots were not yet filled at
Magpili’s precinct that time.
In a fitting recognition of their deed, a Plaque of Recognition
was presented to them the citation of which reads: “In grateful
recognition of virtues exemplifying the highest professionalism,
integrity and dedication to duty rendered to the Philippine Marine
Corps, Philippine Navy during the May 10, 2010 National and Local
Election in Jolo, Sulu which led to the honest, peaceful and orderly
conduct of the said electoral exercise thereby contributing to the
successful accomplishment of the mission of the Corps. The battalion
is commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Camilo F Balutan PN(M)(GSC).
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Photo Release re Marines Who Turned Down Bribe During Elections Honored
By LIEUTENANT COLONEL EDGARD A AREVALO PN(M)
Director, Naval Public Affairs Office
Wednesday, 01 September 2010
2LT MARCELO M FLORES PN(M) and Pfc Rhomel C Divina PN(M)
receiving their awards from MGEN JUANCHO M SABBAN PN(M)
Director, Naval Public Affairs Office
Wednesday, 01 September 2010
2LT MARCELO M FLORES PN(M) and Pfc Rhomel C Divina PN(M)
receiving their awards from MGEN JUANCHO M SABBAN PN(M)
Photo Release re Testimonial Parade and Review for FOIC, PN and two others
By LIEUTENANT COLONEL EDGARD A AREVALO PN(M)
Director, Naval Public Affairs Office
Wednesday, 01 September 2010
Vice Admiral Leonardo C Calderon AFP, Superintendent,
Philippine Military Academy hands over to Rear Admiral
Danilo M Cortez AFP, Flag Officer In Command, Philippine
Navy the Superintendent’s Plaque of Distinction in
recognition to the 37 years of relevant service rendered
to the AFP specifically to the Philippine Navy. The plaque
was also given to two other honorees: Rear Admiral Roberto
Q Estioko AFP, Vice Commander Philippine Navy; and Rear
Admiral Vicente M Agdamag AFP, Commander, Naval Education
and Training Command. Radm Cortez is escorted by his wife,
Mrs. Rosalina B Cortez.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Photo Release re Testimonial Parade and Review for FOIC, PN and two others
By: LIEUTENANT COLONEL EDGARD A AREVALO PN(M)
Director, Naval Public Affairs Office
Tuesday, 31 August 2010
Rear Admiral Danilo M Cortez AFP, Flag Officer In Command,
Philippine Navy; Rear Admiral Roberto Q Estioko AFP,
Vice Commander Philippine Navy; and Rear Admiral Vicente
M Agdamag AFP, Commander, Naval Education and Training
Command troop the line of cadets of the Philippine
Military Academy with Vice Admiral Leonardo C Calderon,
Superintendent of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA)
and the Brigade Commander of the Cadet Corps Armed
Forces of the Philippines during the Testimonial Parade
and Review in their honor on 28 August 2010. PMA
accorded the honor to the honorees as a fitting tribute
for their achievements that had made them earned the
esteemed admiration of more than 20,000 strong members
of the Team Navy.
Rear Admiral Danilo M Cortez AFP, Flag Officer In Command,
Philippine Navy; Rear Admiral Roberto Q Estioko AFP,
Vice Commander Philippine Navy; and Rear Admiral
Vicente M Agdamag AFP, Commander, Naval Education
and Training Command salute the cadets of the
Philippine Military Academy during the Testimonial
Parade and Review on 28 August 2010. The parade and
review was rendered in their honor for their more
than 30 years of faithful and dedicated service to
the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
Director, Naval Public Affairs Office
Tuesday, 31 August 2010
Rear Admiral Danilo M Cortez AFP, Flag Officer In Command,
Philippine Navy; Rear Admiral Roberto Q Estioko AFP,
Vice Commander Philippine Navy; and Rear Admiral Vicente
M Agdamag AFP, Commander, Naval Education and Training
Command troop the line of cadets of the Philippine
Military Academy with Vice Admiral Leonardo C Calderon,
Superintendent of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA)
and the Brigade Commander of the Cadet Corps Armed
Forces of the Philippines during the Testimonial Parade
and Review in their honor on 28 August 2010. PMA
accorded the honor to the honorees as a fitting tribute
for their achievements that had made them earned the
esteemed admiration of more than 20,000 strong members
of the Team Navy.
Rear Admiral Danilo M Cortez AFP, Flag Officer In Command,
Philippine Navy; Rear Admiral Roberto Q Estioko AFP,
Vice Commander Philippine Navy; and Rear Admiral
Vicente M Agdamag AFP, Commander, Naval Education
and Training Command salute the cadets of the
Philippine Military Academy during the Testimonial
Parade and Review on 28 August 2010. The parade and
review was rendered in their honor for their more
than 30 years of faithful and dedicated service to
the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
PMA Honors Navy Top Brass
By: LIEUTENANT COLONEL EDGARD A AREVALO PN(M)
Director, Naval Public Affairs Office
Tuesday, 31 August 2010
The Philippine Military Academy recently honored its alumni
in a ceremony at Fort Del Pilar, Baguio City on Saturday,
28 August 2010. REAR ADMIRAL DANILO M CORTEZ AFP,
Flag Officer In Command, Philippine Navy led the awardees
who are all members of PMA “Masikap” Class of 1977-
REAR ADMIRAL ROBERTO Q ESTIOKO AFP, Vice Commander,
Philippine Navy, and REAR ADMIRAL VICENTE M AGDAMAG AFP,
Commander, Naval Education and Training Command. The
three received the Superintendent Plaque of Distinction
from VICE ADMIRAL LEONARDO CALDERON AFP, PMA Superintendent.
Except for Rear Admiral Cortez who is set to bow out of
the service in January 2011, both Rear Admiral Estioko
and Rear Admiral Agdamag are set to retire this year.
Rear Admiral Cortez took the Navy helm in acting capacity
in May this year after Vice Admiral Ferdinand S Golez retired.
As one of his priority programs which he outlined upon his
assumption, Rear Admiral Cortez wants the Navy to vigorously
pursue initiatives and relentlessly work further for the
acquisition of the Multi-Role Vessel (MRV) and directed
his staff to expedite the processing of supporting documents
under the Capability Upgrade Program 2009.
With the absence of adequate funds, Rear Admiral Cortez has
advocated the lease of Navy properties along Roxas Blvd and
Ft Bonifacio to finance the stalled modernization program.
This “out-of-the-box” solution was welcomed by the President
and was announced during his SONA in July.
A seasoned sailor, Rear Admiral Cortez commanded four
vessels that included the presidential yatch, BRP PAG-ASA
AT-25) from 1992-1997. He was also the Commander of the
Naval Task Force 61 from 2110-2003 prior his assignment
as Chief of Staff of the Philippine Fleet, also in 2003.
Rear Admiral Cortez was the Vice Commander of the
Philippine Navy when he was named as the 31st Flag Officer
In Command. He hails from Ilocos Sur.
Rear Admiral Estioko is the concurrent The Naval Inspector
General when he was named to the Navy’s second highest post.
The Nueva Ecija native is a career naval professional with
sterling performance both at sea and at shore. He holds a
PhD in Development Education.
Rear Admiral Agdamag who heads the Navy’s premier institution
of learning, the Naval Education and Training Command
is an educator and an intelligence operator. The Ilocos Sur
native was the first Filipino to receive a writing award for
his research paper entitled “Intelligence and the Invasion
of the Philippines” at the National Defense University,
Washington DC where he completed his Master of Science in
National Resource Strategy. He has also authored four books.
The three were given a Testimonial Parade and Review, one
of the military’s time-honored traditions and the PMA’s
testament of giving recognition to its illustrious alumni.
The three also lead the inauguration of the two “Masikap”
Class classrooms for the benefit of the cadets who will
soon be the future officers of the AFP.
Director, Naval Public Affairs Office
Tuesday, 31 August 2010
The Philippine Military Academy recently honored its alumni
in a ceremony at Fort Del Pilar, Baguio City on Saturday,
28 August 2010. REAR ADMIRAL DANILO M CORTEZ AFP,
Flag Officer In Command, Philippine Navy led the awardees
who are all members of PMA “Masikap” Class of 1977-
REAR ADMIRAL ROBERTO Q ESTIOKO AFP, Vice Commander,
Philippine Navy, and REAR ADMIRAL VICENTE M AGDAMAG AFP,
Commander, Naval Education and Training Command. The
three received the Superintendent Plaque of Distinction
from VICE ADMIRAL LEONARDO CALDERON AFP, PMA Superintendent.
Except for Rear Admiral Cortez who is set to bow out of
the service in January 2011, both Rear Admiral Estioko
and Rear Admiral Agdamag are set to retire this year.
Rear Admiral Cortez took the Navy helm in acting capacity
in May this year after Vice Admiral Ferdinand S Golez retired.
As one of his priority programs which he outlined upon his
assumption, Rear Admiral Cortez wants the Navy to vigorously
pursue initiatives and relentlessly work further for the
acquisition of the Multi-Role Vessel (MRV) and directed
his staff to expedite the processing of supporting documents
under the Capability Upgrade Program 2009.
With the absence of adequate funds, Rear Admiral Cortez has
advocated the lease of Navy properties along Roxas Blvd and
Ft Bonifacio to finance the stalled modernization program.
This “out-of-the-box” solution was welcomed by the President
and was announced during his SONA in July.
A seasoned sailor, Rear Admiral Cortez commanded four
vessels that included the presidential yatch, BRP PAG-ASA
AT-25) from 1992-1997. He was also the Commander of the
Naval Task Force 61 from 2110-2003 prior his assignment
as Chief of Staff of the Philippine Fleet, also in 2003.
Rear Admiral Cortez was the Vice Commander of the
Philippine Navy when he was named as the 31st Flag Officer
In Command. He hails from Ilocos Sur.
Rear Admiral Estioko is the concurrent The Naval Inspector
General when he was named to the Navy’s second highest post.
The Nueva Ecija native is a career naval professional with
sterling performance both at sea and at shore. He holds a
PhD in Development Education.
Rear Admiral Agdamag who heads the Navy’s premier institution
of learning, the Naval Education and Training Command
is an educator and an intelligence operator. The Ilocos Sur
native was the first Filipino to receive a writing award for
his research paper entitled “Intelligence and the Invasion
of the Philippines” at the National Defense University,
Washington DC where he completed his Master of Science in
National Resource Strategy. He has also authored four books.
The three were given a Testimonial Parade and Review, one
of the military’s time-honored traditions and the PMA’s
testament of giving recognition to its illustrious alumni.
The three also lead the inauguration of the two “Masikap”
Class classrooms for the benefit of the cadets who will
soon be the future officers of the AFP.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Statement from the Director, Naval Public Affairs Office, RE- Hostage-taking in Manila and the Creation of an ‘Elite Strike Force’
By LIEUTENANT COLONEL EDGARD A AREVALO PN(M)
Director, Naval Public Affairs Office
Saturday, 28 August 2010
There are three things that we wish to put
across regarding the incident at Luneta:
First, the Philippine Navy and the Armed Forces
of the Philippines commiserate with and express
our deepest sympathy to the family and loved
ones of the victims in that very unfortunate incident.
Flags in all Navy and AFP camps were flown at half mast.
Last 25th of August, our Sailors acted as pall bearers
and ceremonial elements in the Send-off Ceremony at
the NAIA for the bodies of those who perished in
that incident in Luneta. As far as we can recall,
this is the first time ever that our Navy has
afforded the same honors to anyone but our fallen
heroes or deceased foreign dignitaries.
Second, while there must be a thorough inquiry,
it should be motivated by the desire to draw the
lessons than passing and pinning the blame on anyone.
Third, what was glaring in that hostage-taking
incident was the absence of a highly-trained,
well-equipped, and efficient strike force that can
deliver the decisive blow when the need for it
like the Luneta incident arises.
Regarding Pres Aquino’s directive to create an
elite AFP-PNP strike force, the Philippine Navy
welcomes that directive from our Commander in Chief.
As a matter of fact, we have been anticipating that in the
Navy. After that fateful incident, we have ordered the
commanders of our elite Navy Special Operations Group
and Marine Force Reconnaissance to conduct an inventory
of our men and equipment.
There are three Rs that we need to do to effect
the directive of the Commander in Chief:
Reconstitution. The best among our elite units
have been deployed in conflict areas around the
country. We have to first gather them.
Re-tooling. Units dedicated for this specific
and specialized task should be well equipped.
At present, we do not have suitable high-powered
but shorter automatic weapons, masks, and night
fighting systems, among other state of the
art weaponry and equipment they need; and the 3rd R
is Refresher training.
Our SEAL Teams and Force Recon Marines have all
been trained for commando-type operations. However,
their present deployments are in combat operations
against the terrorists holed in the jungles of Basilan
and Sulu. They need to brush up their skills and
tactics to re-introduce them to urban
counter-terrorist actions.
There will have to be a fourth “R” if we have to
work with our counterparts with the PNP. That will
be Retraining.
While the basics that were taught to the commando
units in the AFP and the PNP are the same,
they need to train together to be one cohesive and
well-oiled fighting machine. And this is not difficult.
We just need some time for training before they can
gel and be a potent anti-terrorist strike force
deployable anywhere in the country at a moment’s
notice.
These will not affect the ongoing operations
in the Navy because our recruitment and training
of our elite units are continuous.
Director, Naval Public Affairs Office
Saturday, 28 August 2010
There are three things that we wish to put
across regarding the incident at Luneta:
First, the Philippine Navy and the Armed Forces
of the Philippines commiserate with and express
our deepest sympathy to the family and loved
ones of the victims in that very unfortunate incident.
Flags in all Navy and AFP camps were flown at half mast.
Last 25th of August, our Sailors acted as pall bearers
and ceremonial elements in the Send-off Ceremony at
the NAIA for the bodies of those who perished in
that incident in Luneta. As far as we can recall,
this is the first time ever that our Navy has
afforded the same honors to anyone but our fallen
heroes or deceased foreign dignitaries.
Second, while there must be a thorough inquiry,
it should be motivated by the desire to draw the
lessons than passing and pinning the blame on anyone.
Third, what was glaring in that hostage-taking
incident was the absence of a highly-trained,
well-equipped, and efficient strike force that can
deliver the decisive blow when the need for it
like the Luneta incident arises.
Regarding Pres Aquino’s directive to create an
elite AFP-PNP strike force, the Philippine Navy
welcomes that directive from our Commander in Chief.
As a matter of fact, we have been anticipating that in the
Navy. After that fateful incident, we have ordered the
commanders of our elite Navy Special Operations Group
and Marine Force Reconnaissance to conduct an inventory
of our men and equipment.
There are three Rs that we need to do to effect
the directive of the Commander in Chief:
Reconstitution. The best among our elite units
have been deployed in conflict areas around the
country. We have to first gather them.
Re-tooling. Units dedicated for this specific
and specialized task should be well equipped.
At present, we do not have suitable high-powered
but shorter automatic weapons, masks, and night
fighting systems, among other state of the
art weaponry and equipment they need; and the 3rd R
is Refresher training.
Our SEAL Teams and Force Recon Marines have all
been trained for commando-type operations. However,
their present deployments are in combat operations
against the terrorists holed in the jungles of Basilan
and Sulu. They need to brush up their skills and
tactics to re-introduce them to urban
counter-terrorist actions.
There will have to be a fourth “R” if we have to
work with our counterparts with the PNP. That will
be Retraining.
While the basics that were taught to the commando
units in the AFP and the PNP are the same,
they need to train together to be one cohesive and
well-oiled fighting machine. And this is not difficult.
We just need some time for training before they can
gel and be a potent anti-terrorist strike force
deployable anywhere in the country at a moment’s
notice.
These will not affect the ongoing operations
in the Navy because our recruitment and training
of our elite units are continuous.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Navy Pays Homage to Hostage Victims at NAIA Today
By: : LIEUTENANT COLONEL EDGARD A AREVALO PN(M)
Director, Naval Public Affairs Office
Wednesday, 25 August 2010
The Philippine Navy pays homage today, 25 August 2010 to the Chinese nationals who were killed during the hostage taking at the Quirino Grandstand this week. Dressed in their white uniforms, over 20 Sailors will act as pall-bearers and render plane-side honors as the remains of the eight victims will be flown from NAIA Terminal I to Hongkong at 5 PM today via a Cathay Pacific flight. In observance of the Chinese tradition, there will be no marching band and Sailors will not be carrying firearms.
The act is the Navy’s gesture of showing sympathy to the people of Hong Kong as the Philippines observes a National Day of Mourning today. The Philippine flag in all Navy bases also fly at half mast in this symbolic gesture of sympathy and respect.
Director, Naval Public Affairs Office
Wednesday, 25 August 2010
The Philippine Navy pays homage today, 25 August 2010 to the Chinese nationals who were killed during the hostage taking at the Quirino Grandstand this week. Dressed in their white uniforms, over 20 Sailors will act as pall-bearers and render plane-side honors as the remains of the eight victims will be flown from NAIA Terminal I to Hongkong at 5 PM today via a Cathay Pacific flight. In observance of the Chinese tradition, there will be no marching band and Sailors will not be carrying firearms.
The act is the Navy’s gesture of showing sympathy to the people of Hong Kong as the Philippines observes a National Day of Mourning today. The Philippine flag in all Navy bases also fly at half mast in this symbolic gesture of sympathy and respect.
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