Veteran intel officer is new Army commander in Southern Tagalog

LUCENA CITY –– A veteran military intelligence officer has been appointed to lead the government soldiers in Southern Tagalog.

Major General Greg Almerol has replaced Major General Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos Jr. as commander of the Army’s 2nd Infantry Division (2ID) based in Camp Capinpin in Tanay town in Rizal province, Captain Jayrald Ternio, head of the Army’s 2nd ID public affairs office, said in a press release Friday.

Lieutenant General Cirilito Sobejana, commander of the Philippine Army presided over the transfer of command held Friday.

Burgos has been assigned to lead the military’s Northern Luzon Command based in Camp Servillano Aquino in Tarlac City effective September 7.

During his leadership, Burgos “has pushed insurgency in Southern Tagalog on the verge of irrecoverable defeat.”

In his message, Sobejana urged the soldiers in Southern Tagalog “to make a final push in winning over our enemies, which keeps on hampering our potential as a nation.”

Almerol, a member of the Philippine Military Academy “Makatao” Class of 1989, was the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) assistant chief of staff for intelligence before his designation as the 40th commander of the 2nd ID.

Almerol spent most of his past 31 years of service as a seasoned intelligence officer who was involved in some of the recent “high-profile accomplishments in the Army and the AFP as a whole,” Ternio said.

2ID covers Calabarzon and the island provinces of Mindoro Oriental, Mindoro Occidental, Marinduque, and Romblon.

LZB