Dingdong Dantes is now a lieutenant commander of the Philippine Navy

A donning of rank ceremony was held earlier today, January 27, for the newly promoted Philippine Navy reservist Lieutenant Commander Jose Sixto "Dingdong" Dantes III and other members of the regular force and reserve officers, including Rocco Nacino, at the Philippine Navy Headquarters in Roxas Boulevard, Manila.

Present in the ceremony is Philippine Navy flag-officer-in-command Vice Admiral Robert Empedrad who donned Dingdong and Rocco's rank insignia.

During his interview with GMA reporters, Dingdong, who is a Marine reservist since 2009, shared that being a part of the naval warfare service branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines is his way to be of service to his countrymen.

The Descendants of the Sun actor said, "Bukod sa achievement ay I think it's really an honor kasi marami naman tayong paraan para magsilbi sa bayan and para sa 'kin, bukod sa pagiging artista, ito 'yung pinili ko.

"Mula noong 2006 no'ng nagpa-enlist ako sa Philippine Marines, marami na talaga 'kong natutunan sa public service and serving the youth. Maraming organizations ang natulungan.

"In fact, kaya nabuo ang Yes Pinoy noong ako'y naging reservist."

He also added, "It may require some time away from the family, away from other things, pero kapag committed ka sa ginagawa mo, magagawa mo talaga s'ya."

One of Dingdong's duties as a lieutenant commander is to assist the uniformed personnel during the time of disaster relief operations.

He said, "Fundamentally, part ng duty namin ay i-assist ang ating uniformed personnel, especially in times of disaster, lalo na ngayong nagkakaroon tayo ng new normal dahil sa climate change, sa mga delubyong nararanasan natin. Lahat ng 'yan ay parte ng pag-a-assist natin sa Armed Forces of the Philippines."

As the founding chairman of Yes Pinoy Foundation, Dingdong believes that this promotion is timely and beneficial for the organization to reinforce their ties with the Philippine Navy for the easy implementation of disaster relief efforts.

"'Yung team ko is in charge of disaster preparedness. It's the same thing na ginagawa ko with Yes Pinoy ngayon na mas pinaigiting 'yung partnership with Philippine Navy, officialized by Taal. Nagiging madali 'yung coordination.

"Kung kailangan namin ng tulong sa uniform personnel natin, kung kailangan natin ng volunteers, sa resources, so mas madali tayong makakapag-execute ng activities."

Moreover, Rocco Nacino was officially recognized as Petty Officer Third Class of the Philippine Navy reserve command during the ceremony.

Lauding Dingdong's new achievement, Rocco shared, "Ito ang pinaka-ceremony ng pagbigay ng aking ranggo so it's nice to see all the officers. Nakaka-inspire din si Dong na na-promote to lieutenant commander and, siyempre, ako, bilang baguhan pa lang sa Navy, gusto ko ring makamit 'yung mga nakamit ni Dong.

"Nagbibiruan nga kami. Buddies kami sa Descendants of the Sun, buddies din kami in real life."

Aside from the donning of ranks, both Dingdong and Rocco were given awards as recognition for their participation in the relief operations held in Southern Luzon for the victims of the Taal Volcano eruption.

IN PHOTOS: Dingdong Dantes and Rocco Nacino lead relief operations for Taal victims

"We were really surprised that we were given awards for the relief operation na ginawa namin with the Navy and with the Marines. Akala lang namin na it's part of our duty as a reservist, 'di namin akalain na may ganitong recognition. So nakaka-engganyo lalo to be thanked for our services," said Rocco.

YesPinoy Foundation, nilinaw ang pagsusuot ni Dingdong Dantes ng Philippine Marines uniform