Philippine Navy vice commander Rear Adm. Caesar Bernard Valencia —PHOTO FROM PN-PAO
MANILA, Philippines — Philippine Navy vice commander Rear Adm. Caesar Bernard Valencia was named acting Flag Officer in Command on Thursday, after the retirement of Vice Adm. Adeluis Bordado.
Valencia will serve in an acting capacity pending the appointment of a full-pledged flag officer in command of the Navy by President Marcos, who is also the Armed Forces of the Philippines commander in chief.
AFP chief of staff Lt. Gen. Bartolome Vicente Bacarro said a new chief of the Navy will be named after the issuance of the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the new law setting a fixed term for military officials.
“For now, it would be in an acting capacity because we don’t have a shortlist yet as we are waiting for the IRR of Republic Act No. 11709,” Bacarro said in a message to reporters.
RA 11709, which was signed by former President Rodrigo Duterte in April but took effect two months later in July, sets a fixed three-year tour of duty for the AFP chief of staff, vice chief of staff, deputy chief of staff, major service commanders (Army, Air Force and Navy), unified command commanders, and inspector general unless sooner terminated by the President.
The change of command and retirement rites for Bordado were held on Thursday afternoon at the Navy headquarters in Naval Station Jose Andrada in Manila, with Jose Faustino Jr., officer in charge and senior undersecretary of the Department of National Defense witnessing the event as the guest of honor and presiding officer.
Faustino gave a marching order to Valencia to “lead the Navy as a reliable partner in nation-building, sustain its transformation into a modern and multi-capable force, a dependable protector not only of our seas but also of our nation’s future.”
In his speech, Valencia pledged to continue the policies and directives of Bordado.
“I am merely a steward until our Commander in Chief decides who gets the mantle of leadership of this maritime nation’s premier fighting force at sea and from the sea,” the acting Navy chief added.
Valencia is a graduate of Philippine Military Academy Bigkis Lahi Class of 1990. Some key positions he recently held in the Navy include being the chief of Naval Staff, and commander of Naval Forces Northern Luzon, the Navy’s operational command that oversees the maritime area over the entire Northern Luzon.
He also served as the commander of the Offshore Combat Force, wherein he spearheaded big-ticket projects initiated by the Navy, such as the acquisition of offshore patrol vessels, frigates and corvettes under the military’s modernization program.