Outgoing AFP chief Dellosa to receive legion of honor
AFP Chief Lieutenant General Jessie Dellosa. Frances Mangosing/INQUIRER.net
Gen. Jessie D. Dellosa, who will retire today as chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, will receive the Philippine Legion of Honor, rank of chief commander, from President Aquino.
The rank (previously degree) of chief commander is the highest award a sitting President may bestow on a civilian or military officer without the approval of Congress.
Previous recipients of the award conferred by the republic since 1947 were former presidents, statesmen and outstanding civic and military leaders. The last recipient was the late Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo.
Mr. Aquino, as Commander in Chief, will confer the Legion of Honor and a citation on the outgoing chief of staff in ceremonies to be held today at the AFP General Headquarters in Camp General Emilio Aguinaldo, Quezon City.
The conferment will be done during ceremonies marking Dellosa’s retirement and turnover of command to his successor, Lt. Gen. Emmanuel T. Bautista, the bemedaled commanding general of the Philippine Army, who will become the 44th AFP chief of staff.
Recipients of the award included former US President Franklin Roosevelt, Taiwan’s Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek, Indonesian President Sukarno, Spanish dictator Francisco Franco, US chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Maxwell Taylor, former Presidents Emilio Aguinaldo and Jose Laurel, US Field Marshal for the Philippines Douglas MacArthur, former US President Dwight D. Eisenhower; former President Ferdinand and First Lady Imelda Marcos, Lorenzo Tañada, Claudio Teehankee, Joaquin “Chino” Roces, Jaime Cardinal Sin; former President Sergio Osmeña, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei and Emperor Akihito of Japan.
Dellosa, who replaced Gen. Eduardo Oban Jr. on Dec. 13, 2011, is a former aide-de-camp to the late former President Corazon Aquino, the President’s mother. He is a member of Philippine Military Academy “Matapat” Class of 1979.
Prior to his appointment as chief of staff, he served as the commander of the Northern Luzon Command.
A bemedaled Army Scout Ranger officer, Dellosa also received the Distinguished Service Star, two Wounded Personnel Medals, two Gold Cross Medals, 39 Military Merit Medals, six Bronze Cross Medals, Long Service Medal, Marksmanship Badge Expert, and Outstanding Achievement Medal.
He was born in Bacon, Sorsogon, in 1957, and is married to Mary Rose Fernandez with whom he has three children.
