ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Bittersweet moment as AFP spokesman officially earns 2nd star on day of father's death

Bittersweet moment as AFP spokesman officially earns 2nd star on day of father's death

Published Aug 24, 2020 10:19 pm

The promotion of Major General Edgard Arevalo, spokesperson of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and concurrent commander of the Education, Training, and Doctrine Command (ETDC), was finally approved by the Commission on Appointments (CA) on Monday, the same day his father died.

Philippine Armed Forces Spokesperson Maj. Gen. Edgard Arevalo (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

The promotion and ad interim appointments of Arevalo and 14 other military generals were formalized by the CA committee on national defense in a "hybrid meeting" at the Senate building in Pasay City.

Arevalo's father, Dolfo, died due to a lingering illness at the age of 82.

Just last July 24, the Arevalo patriarch underwent a surgery for an undisclosed illness. He would have turned a year older on September 27.

Arevalo learned the news of his father's death just as the panel were in the middle of deliberations on the confirmation of the generals' promotions and ad interim appointments.

Members of the CA panel, led by committee chairperson Representative Luis A. Ferrer IV, sent their condolences to Arevalo after the deliberations.

Woman power

Meanwhile, Brigadier General Angelica DL. Torres took the spotlight as her ad interim appointment as the commander of the AFP's Office of the Chief Dental Service (OTCDS) was also confirmed by the CA.

Torres assumed office last February 26, 2020. She is the wife of retired Brig. Gen. Reynaldo Torres who also headed the OTCDS from 2007 to 2014.

Prior to this, she served as Chief of the Air Force Dental Service in 2018. She entered the military service on May 14, 1993.

Torres is a recipient of numerous awards and honors including a Meritorious Achievement Medal, Anti-Dissidence Campaign Medal and Ribbon, Award of the Distinguished Service Medal, Philippine Republic Presidential Unit Citation Badge, and many other military merit medals.

Aside from Torres, the CA also confirmed the ad interim appointments of Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade Jr., the commander of the AFP's Southern Luzon Command (SolCom);  as well as Brigadier Generals Araus Robert Musico, Carlito Bueno Jr., Armel Tolato, Norwyn Romeo Tolentino, Danilo Cariño, Andrew Costelo, and Lyndon Sollesta.

"(The) promotions of generals and senior officers in the Armed Forces signify not only the advancement of military officers in the career as soldiers, it also imply the bigger and more crucial responsibilities that they have to carry in support of the AFP’s mission of protecting the people and the state," said Captain Jonathan Zata, chief of the AFP public affairs office. 

The CA previously approved the confirmation of the ad interim appointments of 22 AFP generals, flag officers, and senior officers during a plenary session last March 11. 

ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.