Philippine Army (PA) Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Potenciano C. Camba (Photo courtesy of Philippine Army)
MANILA – Philippine Army (PA) Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Potenciano C. Camba has received his second star rank.
PA commander Lt. Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. presided over the donning of ranks rites at the Army headquarters in Fort Bonifacio on Thursday.
"Maj. Gen. Potenciano C. Camba assumed as the Army chief of staff on Jan. 13, 2023, succeeding Maj. Gen. Jose Eriel M. Niembra who served as acting chief of staff on top of his primary duty as Army inspector general," PA spokesperson Col. Xerxes Trinidad said in a statement Friday.
Before being appointed as PA chief of staff, Camba commanded the 1002nd Brigade, 10th Infantry Division, as well as other units, such as the office of the assistant chief of staff for personnel, and the 2nd and 3rd Special Forces Battalion, Special Forces Regiment (Airborne).
He is a member of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Class of 1991.
Also on Thursday, Col. Peter B. Burgonio was installed as the PA Intelligence Regiment acting commander.
Burgonio replaced Brig. Gen. Yegor Rey Barroquillo Jr., who was named as commander of the 103rd Infantry Brigade of the PA's 1st Infantry Division.
He has been serving as the regiment's deputy commander since 2017.
"He was also assigned as the battalion commander of the 14th Infantry Battalion and assistant chief of staff for intelligence of the 8th Infantry Division; chief of the counter-intelligence branch of the office of the assistant chief of staff for intelligence, PA; and chief of the anti-terrorism branch for the office of the deputy chief of staff for intelligence, Armed Forces of the Philippines," Trinidad said.
Burgonio is a member of the PMA Class of 1993.
On the other hand, Barroquillo is from PMA Class of 1992 and has served at the helm of the regiment for five years and two months.
"During his (Barroquillo) stint, he constantly supervised the implementation of intelligence projects, which resulted in the neutralization of communist terrorist groups, including high-ranking personalities, and the recovery of high-powered firearms. He also held leadership positions in various units, such as the Officer Candidate School, Armed Forces of the Philippines; Office of the Commanding General, Philippine Army, 1st Infantry Battalion, and Intelligence Service Group, Philippine Army," Trinidad added.
Brawner congratulated Barroquillo and Burgonio on their new assignments, expressing confidence that they would continue their units' exemplary performance under their leadership.
Meanwhile, Col. Benjamin Hao assumed as the new commander of the Civil-Military Operations Regiment (CMOR), replacing Col. Marces Gayat.
Before his new post, Hao served as commander of Task Force Ugnay and assistant division commander for reservist and retiree affairs under the 7th Infantry “Kaugnay” Division.
He also served as chief of staff of the Training and Doctrine Command; chief of the Office of the Army Chief Public Affairs; and commanding officer of the 7th Infantry Battalion under the 6th Infantry Division.
Hao is a member of PMA Class of 1993 and holds a master's degree in Communication Development from the University of the Philippines Open University.
Meanwhile, Gayat also belongs to PMA Class of 1993 and holds a master's degree in Public Management from the Development Academy of the Philippines.
He also headed other units as commandant of the training staff of the Reservist Officers Training Corps (ROTC) under the National Capital Region Regional Community Defense Group and served as assistant chief of staff for personnel and commanding officer of the 5th and 35th Infantry Battalions under the 1st Infantry Division.
Bangsamoro exec enters Navy reserve force
As this developed, Philippine Navy (PN) chief Vice Admiral Toribio Adaci Jr. administered the donning of ranks to the newly inducted Navy reserve officer at the PN headquarters on Thursday.
The rank of commander was conferred to engineer Mohajirin Ali, the director general of the Bangsamoro Planning and Development Authority of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
He is a licensed mining engineer, and earned his master’s degree in National Security Administration from the National Defense College of the Philippines.
“May you inspire other Filipinos, compassionate and dedicated to serving the country in many ways. We look forward to working and collaborating with you on future engagements. We are grateful that you accepted this additional role and chose to become a navy reserve officer," Adaci said.
Navy reservists play an important role as force multipliers in medical and civic action programs, as well as humanitarian assistance and disaster response operations. (PNA)
