New military intelligence chief named
Credit to Author: The Manila Times| Date: Wed, 29 Jan 2020 10:04:45 +0000
THE Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has picked a new head for its intelligence unit.
Brig. Gen. Greg Almerol succeeded Maj. Gen. Reuben Basiao as the AFP’s deputy chief of staff for intelligence (J2). Basiao took over the Philippine Army’s 10th Infantry Division based in Mawab, Davao de Oro.
Before his appointment as the new intelligence chief for the military, Almerol was deputy commander of the Quezon-based Southern Luzon Command (Solcom) and was commander of the 903rd Infantry Brigade based in Bicol before that.
“He is also known to be a hardworking and well-rooted intelligence officer having been Chief, Central Monitoring Station of the Office Army Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence (G2) and as the Commander [of the 14th Intelligence Service Unit of the Army’s Intelligence Security Group (now Army Intelligence Regiment),” said Brig. Gen. Edgard Arevalo, the AFP spokesman.
Almerol is a member of the Philippine Military Academy’s “Makatao” Class of 1989. He once headed the army’s 60th Infantry Battalion and group commander of the 5th Civil Relations Group in Davao City.
Almerol took over the J2 leadership in a ceremony on Tuesday presided by Lt. Gen. Erickson Gloria, AFP deputy chief of staff.
According to the military, it was under Basiao’s tenure in the intelligence that a guerilla front of the New People’s Army had been dismantled.
Before that, Basiao also became commanding officer of two battalions in the Davao region and became the Philippines’ defense and armed forces attaché to Thailand with accreditation to Laos and Myanmar.
He also became the chief of staff of the Intelligence Service of the AFP (Isafp), as well as assistant division chief of the international affairs division under the military’s Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff for Plans in charge of Southeast Asian affairs.
He also once headed the Intelligence Research and Analysis Division of J2. DEMPSEY REYES