Duterte appoints new Coast Guard chief

President Rodrigo Duterte has appointed Vice Admiral Leopoldo V. Laroya as the 28th commandant of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), the agency said on Wednesday.

In a statement, the PCG said Duterte appointed Laroya as the outgoing PCG chief Admiral George Ursabia Jr., is set to retire on Wednesday, September 8.

Laroya started his military career at the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) in 1983 and graduated as member of the “Maringal” Class of 1988.

He finished his post-graduate studies for Masters in Maritime Safety and Environmental Protection at the World Maritime University in Malmö, Sweden, in 2000.

Before his stint as deputy commandant for operations, Laroya served as commander of the Maritime Safety Services Command; Coast Guard Education, Training and Doctrine Command; and Maritime Security and Law Enforcement Command.

He also became a district commander of PCG Districts in Western Visayas, Northwestern Luzon, Southwestern Mindanao, and Bicol.

Laroya commanded two flagship Coast Guard search and rescue vessels, BRP Batangas and BRP Nueva Vizcaya that earned him a Command at Sea badge,

Among the awards he received were the Coast Guard Legion of Honor, Bronze Cross Medal, Outstanding Achievement Medals, Superior Achievement Medals, Coast Guard SAR Medals, and Military Merit Medals. —Joviland Rita/KBK, GMA News