3 senior military officers get first star

MANILA, Philippines - Three senior military officers, one of them the senior military assistant of Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, got their first star in a new batch of promotions approved by President Aquino.

Promoted to the rank of Brigadier General effective last May 3 were Cols. Hernando Iriberri, Remegio Valdez and Crisologo Navye.

A member of Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Class of 1983, Iriberri is the incumbent senior military assistant of Gazmin.

Prior to his defense posting, Iriberri served in various capacities in the Philippine Army, his mother unit.

Valdez, who belongs to the Philippine Marines, is the incumbent commander of the Sulu-based 3rd Marine Brigade. He also served as executive officer of the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ (AFP) Deputy Chief of Staff for Education and Training (J9).

Before this, Valdez was deputy brigade commander of the 1st Marine Brigade based in Basilan.

Nayve, on the other hand, is the current chief of the Office of Defense Reform of the Department of National Defense (DND).