By: Brod Bebong Arreza’82 DLSU-AUF

TWO OUT OF SIX AFP AREA COMMANDS NOW HEADED BY BETA SIGMANS

PROMOTION OF 3 BETA SIGMAN OFFICERS GET COMMISSION ON APPOINTMENTS NOD

Brod Major General Jose Maria “JoeMar” Cuerpo II, MSU-IIT ’85, has been named chief of Eastern Mindanao Command (Eastmincon) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

His appointment brings to two , out of six, the AFP unified area commands under the leadership of Beta Sigmans.

Brod Lt General Facundo “Dong” Palafox IV, UP Baguio ’84, currently heads the Lucena-headquartered Southern Luzon Command (Solcom), which covers the Southern Tagalog, Bicol and MiMaRoPa regions, except Palawan.

Brods Dong and JoeMar are mistahs, members of the PMA “Bigkis-Lahi” Class of 1990.

Brod JoeMar’s new jurisdiction spans three regions – Caraga, Davao, Soccskargen, and parts of Northern Mindanao.

Prior to his promotion, Brod JoeMar headed the Cagayan de Oro-based 4th Infantry Division, one of the Army’s oldest fighting units.

According to one media report, he will remain 4ID commander in concurrent capacity, until his replacement has been named.

Brod JoeMar will officially assume his post today ( May 31) , in a change of command ceremony in Davao City that will also serve as retirement honors for outgoing Eastmincom head Lt General Greg Almerol.

Brod JoeMar is a bemedaled combat veteran whose career is dominated by field and frontline assignments, the quintessential boot on the ground.

Also called “Poker,” the Iligan native has been a generous and consistent supporter of Beta Sigma activities, playing host to fraternity gatherings wherever he was assigned.

His appointment came in the wake of the Commission on Appointments’ confirmation last week of the promotions of three Beta Sigman officers, the first to be presided by newly elected Senate President Chiz Escudero.

Getting the nod of the powerful bicameral body were Brod Lt General Dong Palafox , UPLB Brod Colonel Nathaniel “Taning” Mendez , MD, of the AFP Medical Corps and UP Diliman Brod Cesar Pangan as Captain ( equivalent to Colonel in the land and air services) of the Philippine Navy.

Brod Taning is current Chief of Orthopedics and Traumatology of V Luna Medical Center, and has taken under his wings some Beta Sigma doctors as mentees.

After getting his BS Zoology degree from UPLB in 1998, the 48-year-old Palawan native took up medical studies in a Beta Sigma bastion school, the Our Lady of Fatima University, graduating there in 2003.

If not mending bones, you can find him downing bottles of beer with Quezon City brods in one of their favorite watering holes in the Diliman area.

Brod Cesar, affectionately called “Casuy” by friends and relatives, and “Pang’ee” by military comrades , graduated 11th in his PMA Class of 2000.

He was taking up BS Electronics Engineering in Diliman when Beta Sigma first beckoned and later The Long Grey Line up in Baguio.

The 48-year-old father of one – a son who recently graduated from the University of Toronto in Canada – is a Kintanar, a Cebuano clan, on his mother side.

He is currently stationed in Zamboanga City, with the Naval Forces Western Mindanao.

Brod Dong , UP Baguio ‘84 , commanded the Army’s Armor Division before he was picked to head Solcom early this year, a post once held by another Beta Sigman, Brod Voltaire Gazmin, who served as Benigno Aquino’s only defense secretary.

The Bani, Pangasinan-native father of three has a storied military career, accumulating medals and commendations in his 38 years in service.

Brod Dong was a Physics major at UP Baguio when he entered PMA as a plebe in 1986, the first incoming class after the EDSA Revolution.

His younger brother, Brod Ying , also joined the UP Baguio chapter in 1987.

Brod Ying, a lawyer, attributed Brod General Dong’s survival at PMA to his being a lone member of his batch. “Beta Sigma gave him his first and hardest stress test.”

The Commission on Appointments briefing paper on the four officers highlighted their Beta Sigma membership.