Honors given to outgoing Navy chief

The BRP Apolinario Mabini patrol boat sailed Tuesday again, this time carrying an important person who steered the ship before and made it to the topmost position of the Philippine Navy.

The man, Navy chief Vice Admiral Alexander Pama, will not join in any operation with the patrol boat that sailed to the naval base in Sangli Point, Cavite but will receive a testimonial parade honor before he will retire Wednesday. 

The honor will be fitting for the outgoing chief, who will leave his colorful military career, aside from sailing again BRP Apolinario Mabini, which is the last ship he commanded before heading several area command positions.

Pama will step down Wednesday as he will be replaced by Vice Admiral Jose Luis Alano. 

A member of Philippine Military Class (PMA) 1979, Pama made his presence felt in the military leadership when he led the Naval Forces Western Mindanao and chief of the Task Force Trillium, a special military operation unit, unlikely to be commanded by white cap, in flushing out the Abu Sayyaf militants and its cohorts lost command group of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in Basilan.

Pama successfully prevented the militants from adopting its ‘pintakasi’ (mugging) style of wiping out small type military operations.

“Sometimes, we have to move out of the box in dealing the threat groups,” Pama said.

Pama’s meritorious achievement would steer him later into the highest position as the flag officer-in-command. He was at the naval leadership at a trying time, when the country figured in a territorial dispute with China over islands in the West Philippine Sea. It was also during this time that the Navy acquired a Hamilton cutter class ship known as the Gregorio del Pilar, so far the largest and fastest ship which was recently involved in the Scarborough standoff.

Under Pama’s leadership, another cutter class was acquired and will be on its way to the country early next year, Navy spokesman Col. Omar Tonsay said. 

Tonsay said Pama’s leadership have brought the navy into a direction of modernizing its capability.

He said Pama believed that preparation for the competence of the Philippine Navy personnel must be enhanced parallel to its modernization.