PRESIDENT Duterte has appointed Navy Vice Commander Rear Adm. Adeluis Bordado as the new Navy chief, replacing Vice Adm. Giovanni Carlo Bacordo, who is due to retire from the service tomorrow.
AFP chief Cirilito Sobejana welcomed the designation of Bordado, who assumed his new post yesterday afternoon, in rites presided over by Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana.
Sobejana described Bordado as an “accomplished naval officer” who rose from the ranks, passing through command, leadership, management, and staff positions in the Navy and AFP.
“He particularly distinguished himself in the fields of operations, intelligence, information technology, budget, planning, and education and training,” Sobejana said of Bordado.
Sobejana said Bordado’s designation is timely, noting the Navy is “vigorously pursuing its modernization program that includes acquisition programs for surface and sub-surface assets.”
“The wealth of his experience, his well-rounded education and training locally and abroad and his personal attributes make him an excellent choice to lead the Philippine Navy at this time that the AFP faces various internal and external security challenges,” Sobejana added.
Bordado, a member of the Philippine Military Academy class of 1988, was designated as Navy vice commander — the Navy’s No. 2 man — in December last year. Before that, he served as the Chief Naval Staff — the Navy’s No. 3 man — for three months.
Bordado previously commanded the AFP Education, Training and Doctrine Command; Naval Installation Command; Naval Forces Southern Luzon; and the Navy’s Sealift Amphibious Force.
Bacordo, a member of the PMA class of 1987, is leaving the military after serving as Navy chief for one year and four months. He previously commanded the Philippine Fleet, one of the key units of the Navy.
Last Monday, Bacordo said the Navy’s Board of Senior Officers recommended three senior flag officers to succeed him but the list was reduced to one by the AFP’s Board of Generals, chaired by Sobejana.
