12 senior Army execs promoted

MANILA, Philippines - Twelve senior Army officers, including nine new generals, have been promoted and have donned their new ranks Monday.

Army chief Lt. Gen. Noel Coballes on Monday led the ceremonial donning of ranks to the newly-promoted officers in Fort Bonifacio.

Among those who were promoted was Maj. Gen. Aurelio Baladad, chief of the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division, a unit involved in the relief operations in areas hit by typhoon “Yolanda.”

Prior to assuming as division commander, Baladad served as the Armed Forces Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations.

Baladad was among the officers who were accused of robbery and torture by the so-called Morong 43, a group of suspected communist rebels who said they were health workers.

He was chief of the 202nd Brigade when the “Morong 43” members were nabbed for alleged possession of firearms and explosives in 2010.

Baladad has denied the allegations and has expressed readiness to face the charges against him.

“As we take one step upward the ladder of our ranks, it is clear to us that this entails greater responsibility which the organization and the people are expecting from us,” Baladad said.

Also promoted was Maj. Gen. Hernando Iriberri, the commander of the Nueva Ecija-based 7th Infantry Division.

Iriberri has held key security posts including chief of the Army’s 503rd brigade in Abra, spokesman of the Army and the Defense department, chief of the Unified Command Staff of the Southern Luzon Command and Senior Military Assistant to Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin.

Maj. Gen. Jet Velarmino, commander of the Samar-based 8th Infantry Division, was also promoted to two-star general.

The nine new generals of the Army were also honored during the ceremony.

The officers who received their first star were Brigadier Generals Gerardo Barrientos Jr., assistant commander of the 4th division; Richard Lagrana, the chief of the 902nd brigade; Alex Capiña, commander of the 201st brigade; Ricardo Jalad, assistant commander of the 5th division; Vic Castro, the chief of the 702nd brigade; Ivan Samarita, commander of the 202nd brigade; Edmundo Pangilinan, chief of the 601st brigade; Donato San Juan, commander of the Special Forces Regiment (Airborne) and Roger Salvador, chief of the 501st brigade.

“The Army leadership recognizes that the able leadership of every commander is an indispensable factor in carrying out the Army’s mission,” said Cpt. Anthony Bacus, acting spokesman of the Army.