Pacquiao to receive Lt Col rank from PHL Army Monday

Manny Pacquiao will be officially elevated to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel on Monday at the Philippine Army Headquarters in Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City. Colonel Quirino S. Calonzo, Army Assistant Chief of Staff for Reservist and Retirees Affairs, OG9, said the conferring of the rank to the People’s Champ will be held after the 7:30 a.m. flag raising ceremony. “The activity will be done in recognition of the well-deserved appointment of Congressman Pacquiao to his present rank in the reserve force,” said Calonzo. Pacquiao, the current holder of the World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight title, is also the incumbent representative of Sarangani province’s lone district in the Philippine Congress. Awarding the Lt. Col. rank insignia is one of the Army’s traditions designed to publicly recognize its qualified personnel. Pacquiao earned the Lt. Col. ranking in the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Reserve force on September 21, 2011. The eight-division world champion, prior to his commissionship, held the Senior Master Sergeant rank making him the Command Sergeant Major of the 15th Ready Reserve Division. RA 7077 Major Harold M. Cabunoc, Army spokesperson, said Pacquiao’s commissionship to Lt. Col. is legitimate after several sectors questioned the promotion.   Cabunoc said Pacquiao’s commissionship was based on Section 44 of Republic Act 7077 or the AFP Reservists Act 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 Lt. Col. and not a promotion as assumed by some people,” Cabunoc said.   Cabunoc added Pacquiao is qualified pursuant to paragraph 5b, Group VI of Circular Number 4, GHQ AFP dated July 5, 2010, stating that a congressman can be granted the Lt. Col. rank in the reserve force.   Pacquiao applied for his commissionship to Lt. Col. on June 27, 2011. He is entitled to be promoted to the next rank of Col. in the Reserve Force if he completes a Master in National Security Administration (MNSA) Program pursuant to AFP Circular Number 4 and shall be confirmed by the Congress. Sarangani Battallion XO   Pacquiao is now the designated Battalion Executive Officer of the 1st Sarangani Ready Reserve Battalion. He will be serving under Lt. Col. Gregorio Warren A. Manilay’s command.   Army Chief Major General Emmanuel T. Bautista, in a statement, 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) Bayanihan,” said Bautista.   “With his stature as Congressman and at the same a Reservist Officer, Lt. Col. Pacquiao could very well help in the implementation of Bayanihan, particularly in Sarangani. He can also help in the recruitment of patriotic Filipinos to join the PA Reserve Force as we endeavor to build the force into one great component of a world-class Army that is a source of national pride,” Bautista added. — JVP, GMA News