MANILA, Philippines ? The Philippine Army announced on Friday a formal donning of the Lieutenant Colonel insignia on boxing champ, Sarangani Rep. Emmanuel Pacquiao, will take place at the flag-raising ceremony at Fort Bonifacio, Taguig, on Monday, December 5, 2011.
Col. Quirino S. Calonzo, the Army’s Assistant Chief of Staff for Reservist and Retirees Affairs, said the activity will be held in recognition of the “well-deserved appointment of Pacquiao to his present rank in the reserve force.”
Maj. Harold Cabunoc, the acting Army spokesman, said the donning of rank insignia is one of the traditions in the Army designed to publicly recognize the qualifications of personnel promoted to the next higher grade, and of individuals appointed to join the premiere military organization in the country.
Pacquiao applied for his commission to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the AFP Reserve Force on June 27, 2011 and this was approved by President Benigno Aquino III on September 21, 2011.
Prior to his commission, Pacquiao held the rank of Senior Master Sergeant and was also designated as the Command Sergeant Major of the 15th Ready Reserve Division.
Cabunoc maintained that Pacquiao?s commission to Lieutenant Colonel is legitimate, noting it was based on the provisions of Section 44 of Republic Act 7077, which states that “elected officials and presidential appointees may be commissioned into the Reserve Force subject to the existing AFP rules and regulations.”
?I would like to emphasize that this is an appointment to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and not a promotion as assumed by some people,? said Cabunoc.
He said Pacquiao is also qualified pursuant to paragraph 5b, Group VI of Circular Number 4, GHQ AFP dated July 5, 2010, stating that a congressman can be granted a rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the reserve force.
As a newly-commissioned Lieutenant Colonel, Pacquiao is also designated as the Battalion Executive Officer of the 1st Sarangani Ready Reserve Battalion. He will be serving under the command of Lt. Col. Gregorio Warren A. Manilay.
In a statement Army Chief Maj. Gen. Emmanuel T. Bautista congratulated Pacquiao for his ?well-deserved? appointment.
?The Reservists, among them government officials like Lt Col Pacquiao, are indispensable stakeholders in our campaign to win the peace through the implementation and execution of our Internal Peace and Security Plan (IPSP)
