AFP installs new WESCOM acting commander

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) installed a new acting commander of the Western Command (WESCOM) during a change of command and retirement ceremony at Bonifacio Naval Station, Taguig City on Monday.

In a statement, the AFP said Commodore Charles Merric Villanueva replaced Vice Admiral Alfonso F. Torres Jr., who has retired from military service.

“Under the leadership of Vice Admiral Torres, WESCOM strengthened its maritime domain awareness, expanded its operational presence through the deployment of personnel in detachments across our frontier islands, and sustained surveillance operations by conducting maritime patrols over our country's territorial waters and Philippine airspace with discipline and resolve,” AFP chief General Romeo Brawner Jr. said.

AFP chief of staff General Romeo Brawner Jr. at change of command and retirement ceremony for WESCOM at Bonifacio Naval Station, Taguig City on February 16, 2026. AFP Public Information Office

As the West Philippine Sea (WPS) is under the jurisdiction of WESCOM, Brawner stressed the critical role of the Command in defending the country’s western frontier.

Brawner welcomed Villanueva and expressed confidence in his new leadership to sustain WESCOM’s mission of protecting the nation’s territorial integrity and advancing peace and stability in the WPS.

“The strategic landscape in the WPS demands vigilance, unity of effort and leaders who can think clearly, act decisively, and inspire confidence. Western Command is the AFP's line of defense in Palawan and the Kalayaan Island Group,” he said. —KG, GMA Integrated News