New Navy chief namedNew Navy chief named

By Florante Solmerin
Manila Standard Today, Monday, January 3, 2010

Another member of the Philippine Military Academy’s “Matapat” Class ‘79 has just been promoted, adding to the growing list of the fair-haired boys who now occupy sensitive posts in the Armed Forces.

Rear Admiral Alexander Pama will assume his post as Navy’s flag-officer-in-command on January 4, replacing Rear Admiral Danilo Cortez, a class mate of Armed Forces chief Ricardo David, who will reach mandatory retirement on March 7, 2011.

Military spokesman Brig. Gen. Jose Mabanta Jr. on Sunday said the turnover of command will take place on Jan. 4. “Immediately after the turnover, there will be a command conference that will be officiated by the commander-in-chief (President Aquino),” Mabanta said.

With his new post, Pama outclassed his classmate, Philippine Fleet commander Rear Admiral Jose

Luis Alano, and will join his classmates in key positions such as Army chief Lt. Gen. Arturo Ortiz and Northern Luzon Command commander Lt. Gen. Gaudencio Pangilinan. His classmates include Major Gen. Francisco Cruz Jr, deputy chief for intelligence of the Air Force.

Most of his classmates got promoted several weeks after President Aquino assumed office.

Pama started his military career as a cadet in 1974. He was recipient of the 1979 PMA Journalism Award for being Editor-In-Chief of the PMA “The Corps” Magazine.

His assignments included Naval Forces Western Mindanao, Joint Task Force “Trillium” (Zamboanga-Basilan), Naval Task Group “Stingray” (Anti-Terrorism Task Group), and Naval Task Groups 61.1 and 61.2 (Basilan-Sulu-Tawi-Tawi).

Apart from being closely identified with former defense secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr., Pama was also known as a close friend of Senator Gregorio Honasan.

Pama vowed to push forward the modernization of the service.

Navy planning to acquire seven vessels next year

By Alexis Romero
The Philippine Star, Wednesday, Decmber 29, 2010

The Navy plans to acquire seven vessels next year to improve its operations and upgrade its capabilities.

Navy spokesman Capt. Giovanni Bacordo told The STAR that they want to buy three offshore patrol vessels, three multipurpose attack craft and a landing craft utility in 2011.

“We seek to upgrade the capabilities of the Navy. The acquisition will help us perform our duties,” Bacordo said.

He said the attack craft, which will be used to insert troops during combat operations, would cost P89 million each.

On the other hand, the P178-million landing craft utility would be used to transport troops and logistics.

Bacordo said the patrol vessels would be used to conduct patrols at the Malampaya natural gas offshore facility in Palawan.

Information about the cost of the patrol vessels is not yet available.

Bacordo said the Navy has three multipurpose attack vessels in its inventory.

Two are deployed in Western Mindanao while another is stationed in Palawan.

He said they also have three landing craft utility but no offshore patrol vessels.

Bacordo said the purchase of a multi-role vessel is still in the pipeline but this would depend on the availability of funds.

He said they could not rely solely on the Navy’s annual budget for funds to cover the purchases since 70 percent of it goes to salaries while the rest is used to fund maintenance and operating expenses.

The purchase of the multi-role vessel, which costs about P5 billion, has been planned since 2007. Its acquisition, however, was stalled due to lack of financial resources.

A multi-role vessel is capable of delivering basic services to far-flung areas and can be used for disaster and humanitarian missions.

Earlier, the military announced plans to lease its properties to private firms to generate funds for its modernization program.

Officials said such a scheme would allow the military to procure equipment without bloating the deficit, which is expected to hit P325 billion this year.

Authorities are still determining how much would be generated from the project.

Last November, acting Navy chief Rear Adm. Danilo Cortez told The STAR that at least six firms have expressed interest in the project.

One of the six firms – Malaysian Resources Corp. Berhad – has submitted a proposal that would involve the lease of a 33-hectare Navy property in Fort Bonifacio in Taguig.

The Armed Forces Modernization Act, which took effect on Feb. 23, 1995, has given the military the opportunity to modernize in 15 years with a total fund of P331 billion.

More than 15 years have passed since the law was enacted but there are views that the military is not even close to what may be called a modern battle force. The delay in the law’s implementation has been attributed to the lack of state resources.

PLDT conducts training seminar for Philippine Navy

The Daily Tribune, Friday, December 17, 2010

Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. Corporate Business Group’s FVP and head Nerissa Ramos (front row, 7th from left) recently graced the graduation ceremony of the participants of the two-day security training seminar which PLDT hosted and conducted for the Philippine Navy at the PLDT TelTec Building in Mandaluyong City. The Philippine Navy is the naval arm of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). It is administered through the Department of National Defense. Currently, the Navy establishment is actually composed of two type commands, the Philippine Fleet and Philippine Marine Corps. It is further organized into seven Naval Operational Commands, five Naval Support Commands, and seven Naval Support Units considering the vastness of the territorial waters that the Navy has to protect and defend, optimal deployment of naval resources is achieved through identification of suitable locations where the presence of these units are capable of delivering responsive services.

Marines home for holidays after 10 years in South

By Alexis Romero
The Philippine Star, Thursday, December 16, 2010

Marine Cpl. Amando Marquez, who has been assigned to critical areas like Lanao del Norte and Basilan, is excited to celebrate the holidays with his mother and siblings.

Marquez, who hails from Tanza, Cavite, has not celebrated Christmas with his family for a couple of years since he has been deployed to the South, which is said to be the lair of various armed groups.

“We plan to eat together on Christmas. I will make up for the times that I was not with them,” Marquez, who has been in the service since 2006, told The STAR in Filipino.

Marine S/Sgt. Albert Ekid, who got enlisted in 1995, wants to visit his wife and three children in Zamboanga City as well as his father and siblings in his hometown in Mt. Province.

While Ekid was lucky to have been given the chance to visit his wife and children every Christmas, he has not seen his family in the North for years.

“We have not seen each other for a long time and we hope we can gather together (this holiday season),” said Ekid, who was involved in various operations against the Abu Sayyaf.

Marquez and Ekid are members of the Marine Battalion Landing Team 6, which returned to Manila the other day for retraining after 10 years of battling lawless elements in Mindanao.

The battalion members were honored in a ceremony led by Navy chief Rear Adm. Danilo Cortez.

Lt. Col. Robert Velasco, commander of the 380-strong battalion, said his soldiers will be given the opportunity to visit their loved ones during the holidays.

“It feels great that we are returning (in Manila) during the Christmas season. All Marines are happy. They will be given the chance to be with their families,” Velasco said.

“When they were in the field, they celebrated in far-flung detachments. We also hang lanterns but it feels different if Christmas is celebrated with your family,” he added.

Velasco nevertheless said the Marines are already used to celebrating the families away from their families.

Members of the battalion will undergo retraining in various Navy headquarters, including those in Manila and Cavite. They will be replaced in Basilan by the Marine Battalion Landing Team 9.

Among the battalion’s achievements was the killing of key Abu Sayyaf leader Albader Parad last February in Indanan, Sulu.

The team was also instrumental in the release and subsequent rescue of Red Cross workers Mary Jean Lacaba, Eugenio Vagni, and Andreas Notter in 2009.

The battalion also saw action in Basilan, Tawi-Tawi, North Cotabato, and Lanao del Norte.