INTRODUCTION. In 1992, the naval facilities in the provinces of Cebu and Guimaras were built by the Philippine Navy through the vision and effort of a senior naval officer, Rear Admiral Edgardo B Gallos AFP (Ret), whose heart and mind had dedicated his life and honor in the service of the Philippine Navy. As a young senior Naval Captain and…
In commemoration of the 106th Anniversary of Fireman Second Class Telesforo Trinidad receiving the Medal of Honor, the USS Telesforo Trinidad Campaign (USSTTC) announces the launching of its initiative to name the first U.S. Navy Warship after an American national of Filipino descent who served in the U.S. Navy. Trinidad holds the distinction of being the first and only Asian…
Introduction. France had fallen under the incessant firepower of the German blitzkrieg in 1940. The reasons for the sudden defeat of France are due to leadership failure at both military and political levels. The French army was poorly led and equipped with inferior arms and equipment. And to prevent the Axis powers from taking control of the French Marine Nationale’s…
On June 1939, the second Philippine Q-Boat arrived in Manila and was named Luzon after one of the three main Island groups of the country, and was given hull number Q-111. She is 10 feet longer than Q-112 and has a cruising speed of 41 knots with a crew of 2 Officers and 4 Enlisted Personnel. Q-111 was the squadron…
French industrialist Henry Fayol, recognized by many as father of modern management and author of the book titled “Industrial and General Administration” published in 1916, identified 14 Principles of Management that serve as guidelines for managers to perform their duties and responsibilities. One of these principles is “unity of command.” Simply put, this principle means that subordinates must have, and…
The Philippine Navy is one of five Asian navies that possessed the Cannon Class Destroyer Escort apart from the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF), Republic of China Navy (ROCN), Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN), and the Royal Thai Navy (RTN). The Philippine Navy inducted into service its first Cannon Class Destroyer Escort (known in Filipino Naval Service as the…
INTRODUCTION Submarine Warfare and Anti-Submarine Warfare is no stranger to the world’s Second largest archipelago as its waters were witness to the various naval battles of the last Pacific War between Submarines of the United States Navy against that of Imperial Japan and/or the other way around with the former during the Battle of Palawan Passage in October 1944 with…
From the past to the present, in common naval parlance, the Flagship is usually where the Admiral has its Flag. Throughout time, the Flagship is also noted for its armaments, speed, and capability. Sometimes the Flagship is also the lead ship of a Navy’s particular class of vessel specifically if it is the most well-armed or the biggest in its…
On 29-June-1964, the Philippine Navy lost its Flagship and First Destroyer Escort during the fury of Typhoon Winnie. The loss of a Flagship is a major loss to any Naval Force. Fortunately during this incident, none of the Officers and Crew were lost. Despite the harshness of Mother Nature, the ship’s entire complement braved the typhoon to save the ship…
On 29-June-1964, the Philippine Navy lost its Flagship and our First Destroyer Escort during the fury of Typhoon Winnie. The loss of a Flagship is a major loss to any Naval Force; fortunately, during this incident none of the Officers and Crew was lost. Despite the harshness of Mother Nature, the ship’s entire complement fought bravely to save the ship…
INTRODUCTION: THE TIES THAT BIND. In August 1947, a naval mission was organized by the U.S. Navy in Subic Bay Naval Base to bring in former Auxiliary Motor Minesweepers (AM) of the U.S. Navy and Royal Navy to form the nucleus of the Korean Naval Defense Corps being activated under the supervision of the U.S. Coast Guard. The Korean Naval…
A native of Manila, Commodore Carlos Leong Agustin AFP (Ret) graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD, USA in 1960. He took Weapons Systems Engineering at the US Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA; Naval Staff Course at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, London, UK; NR course in National Security Management at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces,…
The Sugbu Chinese Heritage Museum Foundation, Inc. (SCHMFI) is a formal institution based in Cebu City. It was created with the main task of building the first Chinese-Cebuano museum to showcase centuries of collaboration between the Chinese and Filipino people. The Foundation was established on September 2010, inspired by reflections during a Jesuit Chinese-Filipino Lay Apostolate conference that pointed to…
Arduous Beginnings Nicknamed “Tangkad,” Col. Mariano G. Robles could easily be picked out in a crowd or even battlefield. But it was his sharp analytical mind and photographic memory that stood out even more than his 6’4” stature. His other nickname, “Long,” was both a reference to his towering height and his unheard of ability to hit long-range targets with…
Archaeologists of the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research (NIKU) have discovered a new ship burial site –by sheer luck– using new georadar technology that dates the find back to the Viking or Merovingian eras. The remains of the ship are located just below the surface within what was once a burial mound, making the ship most likely a Viking…
People of the Philippines: I have returned. By the grace of Almighty God our forces stand again on Philippine soil—soil consecrated in the blood or our two peoples. We have come dedicated and committed to the task of destroying every vestige of enemy control over your daily lives, and of restoring upon a foundation of indestructible strength, the liberties of…
A colleague posted about having seen the movie Midway, just released last week, and suggested that it is a good movie to watch. While on a 4-day layover at SBMA, part of a long-planned participation in Anvaya Cove’s annual Pawikan Cup, I decided to check it out and behold! It was playing at Ayala Mall’s Harbor Point at the former…
Coquina and tabby are “bullet-proof” building materials born of the sea. Nearly every child who’s played on the beach has built a simple sand castle by creating a turret with an upturned bucket of sand. Others, more elaborate (and typically built with help from an ambitious parent), boast multiple structures surrounded by moats and rivers that ebb and flow with…
A sensational find of two boat burials from the Viking Age have been discovered in Uppsala. One of the two graves was intact with remains of a man, a horse and a dog. ”This is a unique excavation, the last excavation of this grave type in Old Uppsala was almost 50 years ago,” says archaeologist Anton Seiler. The two boat…
“Let us respect, honor and revere our Philippine Flag!” was President Fidel V Ramos’ concluding line in his Maritime Review article three years ago after he graced a few weeks earlier the 118th Anniversary of the Battle of Alapan that took place on 28-May-1898 in Imus, Cavite. After this victorious battle of Filipino revolutionary forces against Spanish troops, General Emilio…
Sailors call the latitudes between 40 and 50 degrees south of the equator the Roaring Forties. In 1611, Dutch explorer Hendrik Brouwer first used this band by which it effectively halved the duration of the trip from Europe to Java. “To run the easting down” was the phrase used to describe the fast passages achieved through the Roaring Forties. During…
These Totten Beacons –19th century aids to navigation– are protected historical resources. In 1513, Spanish explorer Ponce de León sailed into the strong currents of the Florida Straits. Little did he know that within a few years, these uncharted waters, which feed into the Gulf Stream, would become a major international shipping route to and from Europe and the New…
The Maritime Forum this January stresses international relations and emphatically the DFA will host the 141st Maritime Forum. As we enter a new year and get closer to the next decade, will there be an improvement in our relations with our erstwhile former closest ally and benefactor? The United States has been the favorite “punching bag” of President Rodrigo Duterte…
Lingayen Gulf, where the famous Hundred Islands National Park lies, is one of the nation’s historical bodies of water. It not only provides a source of livelihood, from fishing to tourism to the coastal cities and municipalities of Pangasinan province but also an ideal venue for naval exercises including amphibious landings. Lingayen town is the provincial capital and lends its…
When spokesmen of the Office of the Presidential Assistant on the Peace Process (OPAPP) earlier talked about the Peace Process with the MILF, they often went into a lecture on Philippine history, and repeat what our Islamic brethren have always claimed and like to hear: Christian Filipinos have continuously been exploiting them together with other indigenous tribes. Other indigenous tribes?…