Chief Garci prober is new Navy chief

The chief investigator into the alleged involvement of military generals in the so-called "Hello, Garci" controversy is the new flag officer-in-command of the 22,000-strong Philippine Navy.

Rear Adm. Mateo Mayuga has been appointed Navy chief by President Arroyo. He will take over from Vice Adm. Ernesto de Leon who has filed for early retirement from military service.

A member of Class ’73 of the Philippine Military Academy, Mayuga will officially assume command of the Navy during turnover ceremonies at the Navy headquarters on Roxas Boulevard in Manila at 2 p.m. today.

Mrs. Arroyo appointed Mayuga as Navy flag officer-in-command based on the recommendation of Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz Jr. and Armed Forces chief Gen. Generoso Senga.

"Admiral Mayuga is a very professional officer and a very able manager," Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said in a phone interview. "He knows the problems of the (Navy) men and how to address them."

Meanwhile, De Leon welcomed Mayuga’s appointment and urged Navy personnel to extend to his successor the support and cooperation they had given him.

The outgoing Navy chief also thanked all Navy personnel, who had helped him realize the organization’s full potential as a strong and multi-capable force.

"(Mayuga has) The leadership required to carry out a complex task essential for the peace, security and development for our country and has indeed successfully earned such formidable task," he said in his speech during the testimonial parade last week.

For his part, Navy spokesman Capt. Geronimo Malabanan said the Navy officers expected Mayuga’s appointment as he is widely regarded as an "exemplary officer."

A former Armed Forces inspector general, Mayuga served as AFP deputy chief of staff for personnel (J-1) based at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.

He also occupied key positions in the Navy. From 1976 to 1988, Mayuga held various staff functions in the Philippine Coast Guard, Naval Education and Training Command, and at the Navy headquarters where he was part of a team that worked for the acquisition of 70-footer gunboats.

He also had sea tours of duty on the BRP Tirad Pass for four years as executive officer, and on BRP Limasawa and BRP Cebu as commanding officer for another four years ending in 1992.

Prior to his appointment, Mayuga was spearheading the internal investigation into the alleged involvement of military generals in the reported rigging of the May 2004 national and local elections in favor of the President and other administration candidates as triggered by a wiretapped conversation of former election commissioner Virgilio Garcillano.

Mayuga’s great grandfather, Narciso Mayuga, together with Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo and 94 Filipino revolutionaries, signed the declaration of Philippine independence on June 12, 1898. — Cecille Suerte Felipe, Paolo Romero