President Duterte has appointed the deputy commander of his security team to take the helm of the airborne Special Forces Regiment (Airborne) (SFRA).
Col. Ferdinand Napuli, deputy commander of the Presidential Security Group (PSG), formally assumed command of the commando unit on Wednesday.
The appointment paper signed by Duterte was issued on May 4.
Napuli succeeded Col. Eligen Villaflor, his batchmate at the Philippine Military Academy. Villaflor, one of Metrobank’s Top Outstanding Soldiers of the Philippines, was earlier designated as acting special forces commander after the retirement of Brig. Gen. Lincoln Tagle.
The Philippine Army said Napuli held key positions related to military operations, intelligence and civil-military operations. He also served as the commandant of Special Forces School in 2014.
The SFRA is one of the Army’s elite units based in Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija, that specializes on unconventional warfare. —FRANCES MANGOSING
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