Deputy commandant Brig. Gen. Nelson Allaga was designated to temporarily lead the Philippine Marines, replacing Maj. Gen. Orlando Buenaventura who is due to retire tomorrow after 33 years of service.
A battle-scarred Allaga will hold the post in an acting capacity. The other hopefuls are Brigadier Generals Renato Miranda and Ben Dolorfino.
Miranda, a member of Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Class ’74 and deputy commander of the military’s Western Command (Wescom), is being endorsed by the camp of First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo to head the Marines Corps.
Dolorfino, currently the 2nd Marine Brigade commander based in Marawi City, is also being groomed to replace Buenaventura.
Allaga and Dolorfino are "mistahs" of PMA Class ’76.
Allaga, likewise, was described as a "well-rounded and professional Marine officer" who, on countless occasions, disregarded his own personal safety in leading his men on dangerous missions in Mindanao.
"He (Allaga) has broad experience and background in his military career," said a Marine middle-level officer assigned in Palawan.
Allaga, a native of Banaue, started his military career by serving as the platoon commander of the 25th Marine Company in Tawi-Tawi and Sulu.
From there, Allaga was reassigned to Palawan before seeing action in Basilan and Davao provinces fighting Muslim separatist rebels in the region.
Allaga returned to PMA in 1982 where he taught various military tactics based on his experience on the ground.
Following the 1986 EDSA people power uprising, Allaga was appointed intelligence officer of the 1st Marine Brigade in Basilan.
He later became the executive officer of the 7th Marine Battalion based in Palawan until becoming the Marines deputy comptroller in 1989.
Allaga also had a stint at the Presidential Security Group (PSG) during the term of former President Fidel Ramos.
He later returned to the front in Mindanao and served as commander of the 3rd Marine Brigade based in Patikul, Sulu.
A recipient of two distinguished service stars, 10 military merit medals and several awards and commendations, Allaga also completed an Amphibious Warfare course with the United States Marine Corps in Virginia in 1988 and a Command and Staff course at the same school in 1996.
Buenaventura, on the other hand, was at the height of the offensive against the Abu Sayyaf bandits as 2nd Marine Brigade commander over the entire island of Sulu in the late 1990s.
Buenaventura and his men practically blocked the Abu Sayyaf from carrying out kidnapping runs against foreigners in the islands near the sea border with Malaysia and Indonesia.
He also led the marine unit that drove the Moro Islamic Liberation Front guerrillas from establishing a camp in Bukidnon. — Jaime Laude, Roel Pareño