AIDE-DE-CAMP IS NEW MILITARY CHIEF
MANILA, DECEMBER
12, 2011 (BULLETIN) By
Christine O. Avendaño, Dona Z. Pazzibugan - Major General Jessie D.
Dellosa, a former aide-de-camp to the late former President Corazon Aquino, has
been named chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, replacing
General Eduardo Oban Jr., who retires Tuesday at the age of 56, three Cabinet
officials and two senior military officers disclosed Sunday.
It was Dellosa who implemented "Oplan Daybreak" that led to the rescue of
American missionary Gracia Burnham and the killing of Abu Sayyaf leader Abu
Sabaya nine years ago in Mindanao.
President Benigno Aquino III is expected to announce Monday the appointment
of Dellosa, the head of the Northern Luzon (Nolcom) Command, to the top AFP post
when the Commander in Chief addresses the troops during turnover rites at the
AFP general headquarters at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.
Both Dellosa, who was born in Bacon, Sorsogon, and Oban, who is also from
Sorsogon, belong to the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Class 1979.
"It's Dellosa. He's been the choice for some time now as far as I know," a
key Cabinet official said, speaking on condition that he not be identified as he
was not authorized to discuss the matter with the media.
The official said Dellosa was a great choice because of his reputation for
"righting the wrongs" in the units he had led.
Another Cabinet official on Sunday night confirmed that Dellosa, described as
mild-mannered and quiet, was the next AFP chief of staff.
"That's what I hear unless there are changes at the last minute," said the
Cabinet official, who also did not want to be named for lack of authority to
speak about the matter.
Still another Cabinet official, who is known to be close to the President,
said Dellosa's new appointment was "actually an open secret now within the AFP."
Two military sources, both officers who serve under Dellosa's command, said
reports about the assumption of their commander to the top AFP post reached them
on Sunday. They, however, declined to say how they got the report or who
circulated the information.
43rd chief
Dellosa becomes the 43rd chief of staff of the 130,000-strong military in a
formal change of command ceremony in Camp Aguinaldo Monday.
Malacañang deferred announcing the incoming AFP chief of staff until the day
itself of the turnover ceremony, keeping most of those in the AFP in suspense.
When Mr. Aquino appointed then General Ricardo David in July 2010 and Oban on
March 7, Malacañang made the announcement before the formal turnover.
A decorated Army Scout Ranger officer, Dellosa is a recipient of numerous
awards topped by a Distinguished Service Star, two Wounded Personnel Medals, two
Gold Cross Medals, 39 Military Merit Medals, six Bronze Cross Medal, Long
Service Medal, Marksmanship Badge Expert and Outstanding Achievement Medal.
Dellosa was appointed chief of Nolcom, which is based in Camp Servillano
Aquino in Tarlac City, on July 22. As Nolcom chief, he commands all the military
forces in northern and central areas of Luzon.
Before that, he was the commander of the Army's 2nd Infantry Division based
in Tanay, Rizal, that was responsible for the capture of top New People's Army
commander, Tirso Alcantara, on July 28, 2010.
He also served as deputy commander of the AFP Central Command based in Cebu
City, among his many command posts.
Special commander
From 1988 to 1992, Dellosa was group commander of the special reaction unit
of the Presidential Security Group that defended Malacañang from a series of
deadly coups d'etat.
He later became junior aide-de-camp to then President Corazon Aquino. The
democracy icon took him as personal escort on critical occasions, including her
peace pact with the Cordillera People's Liberation Army on Mt. Data in 1987.
Dellosa served as commanding officer of the 16th and 14th Scout Ranger (SR)
Company, commandant of the SR Training School and commander of Task Group
"Panther" from 1992 to 1997. He was commander of the 1st SR battalion in Basilan
from 1997 to 1999.
As deputy task force commander and operations officer of Joint Task Force
"Comet," he implemented "Oplan Daybreak" that led to the rescue of Burnham from
Abu Sayyaf bandits and the killing of Sabaya.
According to an officer, Dellosa sees "no victory" when the enemy suffers
fatalities because in the aftermath, the killings "do more harm than good."
The officer said Dellosa believed that using arms should be the last resort
of any soldier. "He's a soldier of peace," the officer said.
From 2004 to 2007, Dellosa was the chief of staff of the 4th Infantry
Division.
Then he served as deputy commander of the First Scout Ranger Regiment and
concurrently group commander of special Task Group Sulu that was instrumental in
the neutralization of Abu Sayyaf leader Abu Solaiman in January 2007.
Dellosa was named the PMA commandant of cadets in August 2007.
He underwent extensive military training as an infantry officer, intelligence
officer, scuba diver, hostage rescuer, Scout Ranger and in airborne and
antiterrorism courses.
First assignment
After graduation from the PMA, Dellosa was assigned in Jolo, Sulu, where he
fought Moro rebels for three years and earned the coveted Outstanding
Achievement Award for Military Operations awarded by the PMA Alumni Association
in 1988.
Dellosa was born in Sorsogon on Jan. 20, 1957, but grew up in Lucena City.
Oban will step down a day ahead of his mandatory retirement on Dec. 13.
Only the fifth Air Force general to be the AFP chief of staff, Oban assumed
office on March 7 at the height of the pabaon scandal that exposed multimillion
peso slush fund enjoyed by former top military officials.
He vowed to stamp out corruption in the military and made fiscal and
logistics reforms the cornerstone of his term. He also promised to hold himself
and all officials accountable for the proper use of funds in light of allegation
that funds were diverted for cash gifts or pabaon of retiring top officials.
His focus was on reforms, peace, modernization and morale and welfare.
Conversion
In a recent interview, Oban said he stopped the practice of "conversion" in
which funds meant for certain supplies had been allowed to be converted to cash
for exigency.
Asked if Oban would be appointed to a government post, Mr. Aquino's
spokesperson, Edwin Lacierda, said he had not asked the President about it but
acknowledged that Oban had "served very well" and he was "still young."
"One of the biggest contributions of General Oban was being able to push
through reforms in the AFP, especially in the use of their budget," Lacierda
said in an interview over state radio dzRB.
He also cited Oban's "emphasis" on accountability and transparency in his
nine-month stint as chief of staff which was "consistent with the President's
line."
"But certainly his contributions to the AFP are very important, especially at
a time when there was a scandal that preceded him. It was his leadership that
allowed the AFP to recover its standing among the public,"' Lacierda said. With reports from DJ Yap and Cathy Yamsuan in Manila; Ana Roa,
Inquirer Research, and Tonette Orejas, Inquirer Central Luzon
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2011 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
All
rights reserved
PHILIPPINE
HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE [PHNO] WEBSITE
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/phnotweet
This is the PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE (PHNO) Mailing List.
To stop receiving our news items, please send a blank e-mail addressed to: phno-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
Please visit our homepage at: http://www.newsflash.org/
(c) Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
-------------------------------------------------------------Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/phno/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/phno/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
phno-digest@yahoogroups.com
phno-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
phno-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
