MANILA -- The Armed Forces of the Philippines yesterday announced the appointment of four star-rank and six senior officers to major command positions in the various branch of the service.

Col. Arnulfo Burgos Jr., AFP spokesperson, said positions include the Eastern Mindanao Command, 10th Infantry Division, 8th Infantry Division and Naval Forces Central.

He added that this new set of designations was approved by the President and AFP commander-in-chief Benigno Aquino III.

Major Gen. Jorge Segovia will assume command of the EASTMINCOM, replacing Lt. Gen Arthur Tabaquero who will bow out of the active military service on April 17.

Segovia is a member of the Philippine Military Academy "Mapitagan" Class of 1980 and has an outstanding military career as commander, most notably of his subsequent command of two infantry divisions.

Currently, he is the commander of the 10th ID and prior to that he was the 2nd ID head.

Segovia was also the chief of the command center in the General Headquarters; commander of 202nd Infantry Brigade; and commander of 76th Infantry Battalion.

Meanwhile, Brig.Gen. Ariel Bernardo will replace Major Gen. Segovia as 10th ID commander.

He is the current chairman of the GPH Panel in the Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities, a peace mechanism between the Philippine Government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. Brig. Gen. Ariel Bernardo was the former deputy commander of the 6th ID.

Also, Capt. Franco Sebastian, the deputy commander of the Fleet Marine Ready Force in Sangley Point, Cavite will assume duty as deputy commander of the Southern Luzon Command and will replace Commodore Rosauro Arnel Q. Gonzales Jr. who will retire on April 29.

Other senior officers were also given new assignments -- Brig. Gen. Gerardo Layug, the former deputy commander of the Western Mindanao Command, who assumed as commander of the 8th ID.

He was also the former Commander of the 301st Infantry Brigade. He replaced Major Gen. Mario Chan who retired last April 8.

Commodore Roberto V. Santos assumed command of the NAVFORCEN.

Santos was the assistant deputy chief of staff for education and training.

He was also the deputy commander of the Naval Sea System Command, Naval Forces Western Mindanao, and Naval Forces West. He replaced Commodore Zyril Carlos, who recently assumed as Chief of the AFP Procurement Center.

Col. Teodorico Raqueno replaced Commodore Santos for the assistant deputy chief of staff for education and training, AJ8.

He was the former chief of staff for communications electronics and information system of the Philippine Army.

Also, Col. Arnulfo Marcos, former 502nd Infantry Brigade commander, assumed as assistant division commander of the 5th Infantry Division.

He was replaced by Col. Sanny L. Gadot in the 502nd IB command.

Col. Gadot was the assistant chief of the office of strategic and special studies and led the 3rd Philippine Contingent to Golan Heights in 2011.

Col. Eusaquito Manalo, former assistant deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, AJ3 of the AFP, assumed command of the 570th Composite Tactical Wing of the Philippine Air Force.

He was replaced as AJ3 by Col. Andre Tanyag, who was the deputy commander of the 560th Airbase Wing.

Also, Col. Danilo Peñafiel has moved office as the new Commander of the 355th Air Education and Training Wing of the Philippine Air Force from being the deputy commander of the Air Education and Training Command.

Col. Penafiel was replaced in the AETC by Col. Conrado Parra, deputy commander of 205th Tactical Helicopter Wing.

AFP chief-of-staff General Jessie Dellosa congratulated the new appointees and said that they “be ready to carry out their new tasks with a strengthened commitment to serve the Filipino people.”

“We are always faced with new challenges every day and it is imperative that we put new and outstanding people to face these challenges. I am confident that the senior officers who were designated to new positions will give utmost importance to the accomplishment of their new missions,” he added.*PNA

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