PH Navy to get new chief next week

MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang is looking at 3 candidates to assume the post of Philippine Navy (PN) Flag Officer in Command, when Vice Admiral Jesus Millan, who will step down upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 56 on  Monday, August 10.

Separate sources from Malacañang and the military said the candidates are the following:

• Rear Admiral Ronald Joseph Mercado, PN chief of Naval Staff
• Rear Admiral Caesar Taccad, PN Vice Commander
• Rear Admiral Allan Rosal, AFP deputy chief of staff for personnel (J1) 

President Benigno Aquino III will lead the change of command and retirement ceremony on Monday afternoon at the navy headquarters Naval Station Jose Andrada in Manila.

Millan led the Philippine Navy as the military shifted its focus from shifted its focus from internal defense to external defense.

The new chief of the Philippine Navy will assume as the Philippines awaits ruling on its international arbitration case against China and continues to demand the military power to adhere to international law, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

The Aquino administration saw tension between Manila and Beijing in the disputed West Philippine Sea (South China Sea). (READ: Aquino’s legacy: Defying China) – Rappler.com