Bacordo assumes top Navy post

Rear Admiral Giovanni Carlo Bacordo on Monday formally assumed his post as the new Flag Officer In Command of the Philippine Navy.

President Rodrigo Duterte presided the change of command ceremony held at the Naval Station Jose Andrada along Roxas Boulevard.

Bacordo, who belongs to Philippine Military Academy “Hinirang” Class of 1987, replaced Vice Admiral Robert Empedrad who reached the mandatory age of retirement today, February 3.

Empedrad served in the military for more than 38 years.

Prior to his new designation as Navy chief, Bacordo was the commander of the Philippine Fleet. He has been serving for over 36 years in various command and staff positions.

Bacordo previously commanded navy units which were involved in matters such as territorial defense in the West Philippine Sea as well as threats from communist groups and local terrorist groups. 

Navy modernization

In his speech, Bacordo emphasized that he would implement projects which will ensure that the new assets of Navy will remain capable through time.

Among the priority programs under Bacordo’s leadership are the sustainment suite for new platforms, weapons and sensors of the fleet and the marines and the strict implementation of specialization for officers and enlisted personnel skills.

The new Navy chief also noted that the efforts of the Navy in modernizing its capabilities will be wasted if the mindset of the personnel is not “modernized.”

“It is easy to modernize the Philippine Navy in terms of modern platform, modern equipment, but the most challenging is to modernize the mindset of the sailors and marines after decades of exposure to legacy capability,” Bacordo said.

“Without a modern mindset, the modern assets of the Navy will go to waste,” Bacordo added.

In order for Navy personnel to achieve a modernized mindset, Bacordo said the following initatives would be implemented: Decommissioning of all legacy vessels by the first semester of 2021, investing heavily on all personnel and modernizing all base facilities.— RSJ/LDF, GMA News