Palace names Bambao head of elite Army unit

Malacañang has appointed Maj. Gen. Romulo Bambao as the new chief of the Special Operations Command (Socom), an elite unit of the Philippine Army, the military announced Monday.

Bambao replaces Maj. Gen. Roberto Morales who retired as Socom commander last week.

Bambao belongs to Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Class 1979 like Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Jessie Dellosa, AFP Deputy Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Anthony Alcantara and Navy Flag Officer in Command Vice Adm. Alexander Pama.

Jungle Fighter division

Prior to his new posting, Bambao was commander of the Army’s 2nd Infantry “Jungle Fighter” Division based in Tanay, Rizal. He will be replaced by Maj. Gen. Eduardo del Rosario as 2ID commander.

A member of PMA Class ’80, Del Rosario is currently commander of the AFP Civil Relations Service.

Lt. Gen. Raymundo Ferrer, who commands all military forces under the Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom), will also step down on January 23.

Ferrer will retire after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 56 next week.

Malacañang has yet to appoint the commanders for the AFP Northern Luzon Command (Nolcom) and the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division based in Capiz, which were vacated with the promotion of their former commanders, Dellosa and Army chief Lt. Gen. Emmanuel Bautista, respectively.

The AFP also announced the appointment of Col. Donato San Juan, currently the Army Assistant Chief of Staff for Personnel (G1) and member of PMA Class 1984, as commander of the Special Forces Regiment (Airborne).

Court-martial

San Juan replaced Col. Aminkadra Undog who was relieved in December.

Undog faces court-martial for alleged negligence that resulted in the death of 19 elite troops and the wounding of 14 others in the hands of Moro rebels in Al-Barka, Basilan on October 18.

The others who will face court-martial are Col. Alexander Macario, former head of the Special Operations Task Force Basilan who oversees the Special Forces and Scout Ranger troops on the island province; Lt. Col. Leo Pena, former head of the 4th Special Forces Battalion who had command over the troops; and Lt. Col. Orlando Edralin, former commandant of the Special Forces Training School.

They were charged with violation of Article of War 97 or conduct prejudicial to good order and military discipline in conjunction with criminal negligence under Article 365 of the Revised Penal Code.

The AFP said Ferrer would be honored with a testimonial parade and review at Camp Aguinaldo general headquarters at 3 p.m.  on Monday .

Key Mindanao posts

A member of PMA Class ’77, Ferrer had held key command posts in Mindanao since 2001.

He was named administrator of Maguindanao when then President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo placed the province under martial law to arrest members and supporters of the powerful Ampatuan clan for the Nov. 23, 2009 massacre.

Ferrer was then commander of the AFP Eastern Mindanao Command (Eastmincom), a post he held since January 2009.

He was appointed Westmincom commander in November 2010.

‘Bayanihan’ plan

As Westmincom commander, Ferrer was given the Presidential Legion of Honor Award for his “meritorious and valuable service” in the conduct of the new Internal Peace and Security Plan “Bayanihan” that prioritizes peace talks with communist and Moro rebels.

Under Ferrer’s leadership, Westmincom, which is based in Zamboanga City, captured 349 wanted persons, including those who had surrendered and recovered 241 firearms and 21 improvised explosive devices and seized 19 enemy camps.

Originally posted: 2:04 pm | Monday, January 16th, 2012