A “BRILLIANT and battle-hardened” officer has assumed the post of commandant of the Philippine Marine Corps, a military unit under the Philippine Navy known for its ferocity in the battlefield.
Maj. Gen. Vicente Blanco took the helm of the Marine corps last Saturday during rites presided over by Navy chief Vice Adm. Jose Ma Ambrosio Ezpeleta at the Marine headquarters in Taguig City.
Blanco, a member of the Philippine Military Academy Class 1991,succeeded Maj. Gen. Arturo Rojas who reached the retirement age of 57 last May 27.
Before his new assignment, Blanco served as the corps’ deputy commandant and acting Marine commandant since Rojas’ retirement.
Navy spokesman Captain John Percie Alcos, in a statement, described Blanco as a “brilliant and combat-hardened marine officer” who has led “some of the challenging operational environments.”
Blanco also served as commander of the 4th Marine Brigade, based in Ilocos Norte, before assuming the post of Marine deputy commandant in November last year.
Ezpeleta urged Blanco to sustain the transformation of the Marine corps under the Active Archipelagic Defense Strategy and sharpen the corps “into a force that is not only the most ready, but also the most relevant — whether on land, at sea, or in the littorals.”
Blanco thanked President Ferdinand Marcos Jr for appointing him to the top Marine post.
To the Marine personnel, Blanco said: “I do not seek to lead from above, but with you, among you, and for you… I ask only this: bring your best every day, in every task, in service of something greater than ourselves.”
“Good enough is not good enough if it can be better; and better is not good enough if it can be best,” he added.
The Philippine Marines, in a statement, said Blanco’s “decades of experience in operational command and national security strategy make him a proven and distinguished military officer.”
“His assumption of command marks a renewed momentum for the Philippine Marine Corps as it continues its mission to defend the nation’s sovereignty,” it added.
