PRESIDENT Aquino has appointed Lt. Gen. Edgar Fallorina commanding general of the Philippine Air Force (PAF), taking over from Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Delgado who is retiring today (Wednesday).
Mr. Aquino, as the Commander in Chief, will preside over the turnover ceremonies at Fernando Air Base in Lipa City, Batangas.
Delgado is turning 56, the mandatory military retirement age, on March 20 but opted to step down early due to the election ban on government appointments that starts today.
Delgado will be honored with a fly-by by the PAF’s two new FA-50 jet fighters, the first time in 10 years the Air Force commander will be accorded such honor, after the PAF in 2005 decommissioned the last of its F-5 jets that relegated the service back to the subsonic age.
Under the Armed Forces of the Philippines modernization program, 12 FA-50 lead-in jet fighters were purchased from Korean Aerospace Inc. for P18.9 billion, bringing the PAF back into the supersonic age.
Fallorina, a proficient helicopter pilot, is a member of Philippine Military Academy “Matikas” Class of 1983.
In May last year, he was appointed AFP deputy chief of staff by President Aquino.
According to the PAF website, Fallorina served as flight commander, instructor pilot and test pilot of the 205th Tactical Helicopter Wing; group commander of the Tactical Operations Group Sanga-Sanga; Air Force internal auditor; chief, Air Force Resource Management Office; wing commander, 520th Air Base wing; deputy commander, 3rd Air Division; commander, 1st Air Division; chief of Air Staff and vice commander, Philippine Air Force.
In his last press briefing at Villamor Air Base Tuesday, Delgado announced the PAF was acquiring two Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft from the United States to boost its troop transport, humanitarian assistance and disaster response capabilities.
The first of the second-hand refurbished aircraft will arrive in the country on March 15, Delgado said, adding that the Air Force bought the aircraft at the discounted price of P1.6 billion.
“Our technical working group is in the United States right now to inspect the aircraft prior to delivery,” he said.
The second C-130 is scheduled to arrive in September. Both came from an Arizona air base in the United States. With the latest acquisitions, the PAF will have five operational C-130 aircraft. With a report from Julie M. Aurelio