PRESIDENT Duterte has designated a senior Army officer as commander of the elite Special Force Regiment-Airborne (SFRA), an elite unit of the Philippine Army that specializes in training communities in the fight against various threat groups.
Col. Eliglen Villaflor took the helm of the SFRA last Saturday, replacing now retired Brig. Gen. Lincoln Francisco Tagle during rites presided over by Army chief Lt. Gen. Romeo Brawner at the SFRA headquarters in Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija.
Duterte also appointed a Manila regional trial court judge to the Court of Appeals.
The appointment papers of RTC Judge Ana Marie Train Mas were dated May 24, 2021 but were only transmitted by the Office of the President to the office of Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo yesterday.
Villaflor, a member of the Philippine Military Academy class of 1992, was previously the deputy commander of the SFRA. He also served as director of the Army Personnel Management Center (APMC), SFRA chief of staff and commander of the 4th Special Force Battalion involved in the fight against members of the terrorist Abu Sayyaf Group in Basilan.
He holds a Master of Human Resource Management degree from Australia’s University of Newcastle and a Masters in Public Management from the Development Academy of the Philippines.
Army spokesman Col. Xerxes Trinidad said Villaflor is “high-qualified” for the position. He said the designation of Villaflor as SFRA commander was recommended by senior military officials.
Mas took the place of Associate Justice Edgardo Delos Santos, who was appointed to the Supreme Court in December 2019 after the retirement of Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio. — With Ashzel Hachero
