Faces of the News: Luzviminda Camacho
The military’s donning of ranks where the rise of the Armed Forces of the Philippines officials is acknowledged has become a given.
But last week’s rite was historic as it made Luzviminda Camacho of the Philippine Navy the country’s first woman commodore, a rank equal to that of a brigadier general.
Being first is nothing new to Camacho, who was the first female head of the AFP office of legal affairs.
She also broke ground for women in the major service by taking command of two Miguel Malvar-class corvettes, the BRP Iloilo and the BRP Magat Salamat, and being the first woman to lead a contingent of Filipino peacekeepers in Haiti.
She entered the military as an ensign in 1988 and has since dedicated her 31 years to the AFP, where she became the recipient of the Outstanding Achievement Medal from the secretary of national defense; the Distinguished Service Star, the AFP’s third highest military award; the Bronze Cross Medal, awarded for heroism involving risk of life; and the Military Merit Medal for heroic achievement against an enemy of the state.
