President Duterte has approved the promotion of two female officers to become the first women generals of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).
Commodores Luz Escarilla and Fran Eden were among the eight PCG officers promoted on February 26 to the rank of Commodore, or equivalent to Brigadier General in the military.
Escarilla is assigned to the Coast Guard Civil Relations Service while Eden is with Coast Guard Medical Service.
As both of them are physicians, PCG spokesperson Commodore Armand Balilo said they have been frontliners for the agency since the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic started.
“Escarrilla is in charge of the Task Force Quarantine while Fran is the head of the Task Force RT PCR, in charge of the swabbers deployed in all ports nationwide, airports for the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW), and the mobile teams that conduct RT PCR in hotels and quarantine facilities including cruise ships,” said Armand Balilo.
The promotion of the two was recommended by PCG officials and Transportation Secretary Art Tugade on February 15.
Other PCG officers promoted to the rank of Commodore were Luisito Sibayan, Coast Guard Coast District Southeastern Mindanao; Commodore Roben De Guzman, Director National Operations Center for Oil Pollution; Commodore Inocencio Rosario Jr., Coast Guard District North Eastern Mindanao; Commodore Agapito Bibat, Coast Guard District Northern Mindanao; Commodore Allen Dalangin, Deputy Chief of Coast Guard Staff for Intelligence; and Commodore Ferdinan Picar, Deputy Chief of Coast Guard Staff for Operations.
PCG Commandant Admiral George Ursabia Jr. urged the newly-promoted officials to guide their subordinates to deliver public service with humility and compassion.
Ursabia also expressed his gratitude to President Duterte and Tugade for supporting the promotion of Coast Guard key officials, as well as their trust and confidence in the initiatives and future plans of the humanitarian armed service.