Rough THE OFFICIAL GAZETTE OF THE PHILIPPINE NAVY …

PN ROUGHDECKLOG 11 PHILIPPINE NAVY

RoughDeckLogTHE OFFICIAL GAZETTE OF THE PHILIPPINE NAVY • VOLUME NO. 91 • JULY 2020

FEATURE ARTICLE

PH NAVY COMMISSIONS FIRST EVER, PURPOSE-BUILT FRIGATE

PN’S BRAND NEW FRIGATE DEPARTS FOR RIMPAC EXERCISE IN HAWAIIAFP CHIEF OF STAFF VISITS AFP'S NORTHERNMOST DETACHMENT IN MAVULISNAVY VESSELS TRANSPORT RELIEF GOODS, STRANDED PERSONS TO BONGAO, TAWI-TAWI

NEWS STORY

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NAVAL TASK FORCE 83: WE SERVE OUR PURPOSE p.19

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TWO FACES OF PANDEMIC p.27


Editorial BoardVADM GIOVANNI CARLO J BACORDO AFPFlag Officer In Command, Philippine NavyRADM REY T DELA CRUZ AFPVice Commander, Philippine NavyRADM ADELUIS S BORDADO AFPChief of Naval StaffCOL EDWIN JOSEPH H OLAER PN(M)(MNSA)Assistant Chief of Naval Staff for Civil Military Operations, N7

Editorial StaffEditor-In-ChiefLCDR MARIA CHRISTINA A ROXAS PNEditorial AssistantsLCDR ENRICO T PAYONGAYONG PNLCDR RYAN H LUNA PNLCDR RANDY P GARBO PNLCDR EDUARD J PABLICO PNTechnical AssistantsSK3 Elvin F Macatangay PN YN3 Dexter M Dimabayao PNYN3 Gino G Gullon PNET3 Oliver B Francisco PNCPL Wenly M Ortega PN(M)S2PH Ray Ban E Sinfuego PNS2PH Silver S Aballe PNS2PH Hans Bryan E Lim PNS2JO Cyrin Ann T Guingona PNS2PH Joseph C Angue PNS2DP Charisma N Narvaza PNS2PH Mark John P Navarro PNS2PH Sherwin D Donato PN Mr. Karl Thomas L. Rosello Civ HRMs. Ariane Joy A. Rodelas Civ HRMr. John Marwin F. ElaoMr. Arman Joshua A. San Andres

RoughDeckLog

Protecting the Seas, Securing our Future

CONTENT

MORALE & WEFARE

4 Company Culture: 5 Morale Boosters During the Covid-19 Pandemic

5 DOH Advisory: COVID-19

NEWS STORIES6 PH Navy commissions first ever,

purpose-built frigate

8 PN’s brand new frigate Jose Rizal departs for RIMPAC exercise in Hawaii

9 Navy welcomes returning marine battalion from Tawi-Tawi

10 AFP Chief pays farewell visit to Philippine Navy

12 Navy Responds to Oil Spill incident in Western Visayas

13 Navy vessels transport relief goods to Balut Island

14 PH Navy dons newly promoted flag officers

15 PH Navy now recognizes SPI as its affiliate reserve unit

16 AFP Chief of Staff visits AFP’s Northernmost Detachment in Mavulis

17 Navy vessels transport relief goods, stranded persons to Bongao, Tawi-Tawi

18 PH Navy conducts Human Rights Advocacy Lecture to frontliners at NRC

FEATURED ARTICLE

19 Naval Task Force 83: We Serve Our Purpose

22 “Clean, Repair, Plant & Share… The APOMABS Way”

24 Naval Reservists in the Visayas: Reliable Partners During Crisis

27 Two Faces of Pandemic

ANNOUNCEMENT

28 Best Photo and Article for June 2020

28 Eid Al Adha Mubarak Poster

NEED TO KNOW

29 The Philippine Expeditionary Force to Korea

29 Sideboys

30 FACEBOOK CORNER

2019 Annual Dividend and 2nd Quarter 2020 EDA Payout

DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Philippine Navy, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and the Philippine Government.Share your story. Send us your news and feature articles at [email protected] for inclusion in the next PN Rough Deck Log issue.

NAVAL PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICEHeadquarters Philippine Navy, Naval Station Jose Andrada2335 Roxas Boulevard, ManilaPhone Number: (02) 523-3438 Mobile Number: (+63) 917-569-6840

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16VOLUME NO. 91 • JULY 2020 ISSUE

ABOUT THE COVERNational Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana’s wife, Editha, leads traditional smashing of a sacri-ficial bottle of wine over the bow of the BRP Jose Rizal (FF150) during its commissioning ceremony at Alava Wharf, SBMA, Zambales on July 10.

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MORALE & WELFAREMORALE & WELFARE

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5 Morale Boosters during The COVID-19 Pandemic

COVID-19 has, to put it mildly, changed everyday life. Regular office norms have taken a hard turn in a direction that many are struggling to navigate. From so-cial distancing to entire offices working remotely, one aspect of office life that is being pushed aside in terms of priorities is company culture. What cannot be ignored is the mental health strain that employees may start to struggle with as they self-quarantine, but we have a few morale boosters that are sure to help maintain the best company culture.

source: https://iprovonline.com/

COMPANY CULTURE:

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DOH ADVISORY:COVID-19

1. VIDEO CONFERENCE CALLSHuman interaction is critical right

now especially when some are men-tally viewing quarantining the same as isolation. Don’t just speak to em-ployees; make an effort to actually see them using tools such as FaceTime, Google Hangouts, or Zoom.

2. STAY AS TRANSPARENT AS POSSIBLEIdeally, your company’s leader-

ship is keeping your staff up to date on any new company developments or changes, that include policies, revenue increases or decreases, and adjustments needed in manpower. It is much easier for employees to plan and prepare if they have all the nec-essary information, and filling every-one in early enough to take action is appreciated on every level.

3. KEEP YOUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAMMING

A sense of normalcy is a comfort to most people during trying times and if businesses can assist even a lit-tle bit, employees will appreciate the

effort. Try to provide the tools nec-essary to maintain business as usual and encourage employees to reduce distractions any way they can during working hours.

4. CREATE A NEW WORK “COMMUNITY” FOR EMPLOYEES

When working remotely, employ-ees may feel as if they are forced to temporarily sever relationships they had built in the past such as book clubs, gyms, and meet-up groups. Us-ing video chat, you can start a virtual book club by providing the books to employees and using lunch hours to discuss.

5. TRUST IS KEYManaging remote employees is so

difficult. You don’t know if everyone is more productive at home or not. The best thing you can do during this time is to instill a level of trust and vulnerability. Your employees need to know that you trust them to be responsible, accountable, and re-liable.▪


NEWS STORIES

The brand new, four-dimensional warfare-capable frigate contract-ed with South Korean shipbuilding company, Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), has formally entered service with the Philippine Navy (PN) as BRP Jose Rizal (FF150) in a commissioning ceremony held at the Alava Wharf, Olongapo, Zambales on July 10.

Philippine President and AFP Commander In Chief, Rodrigo Duter-te, virtually graced the ceremony with a video message as history unfolded for the PN which now has in its inven-tory a credible warship that is at par with other navies in the world. Others in attendance were the Secretary of National Defense, Delfin Lorenzana, AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Felimon San-tos Jr., Navy Chief Vice Adm. Giovan-ni Carlo Bacordo, major service com-

Philippine Navy commissions first ever, purpose-built frigate

manders and other top defense and military officials. Present also were South Korean Am-bassador Han Dong-man, HHI representa-tives, Olongapo City Mayor Rolen Paulino and SBMA Chairperson Atty. Wilma Eisma.

President Duterte recognized the ceremo-ny as “the beginning of a new era of devel-

retary Lorenzana received the ship’s documents and certificates from Mr. Bokyeung Kang, HHI Project Manag-er, which marked the formal transfer of ownership of FF150 to the Philip-pines. It was followed by christening rites with Editha Aguilar-Lorenzana as the lady sponsor.

The SND thanked HHI “for build-ing in record time” the ship that “rep-resents an advancement… being the first missile-capable frigate of the Philippine Navy.”

“We look forward that this ship will be participating in some of the [naval] exercises in the region and it will be used purely for defensive pur-poses,” added Lorenzana.

Naming the vessel after Dr. Jose Rizal aims to uphold the legacy of our national hero and serve as a tangible representation of his patriotism. Giv-ing more significance to the event was the attendance of the living descen-dants of Jose Rizal with Mr. Emmanu-el G. Herbosa being the eldest.

In his remarks, Vice Admiral Ba-

cordo expressed his “feeling of im-mense pride because of what I think is a great milestone and accomplish-ment of the defense sector in de-cades… [which] is a testament and the reflection of our government’s com-mitment to protect and show our love for the country as our national hero Jose Rizal instructed and inspired us to do so.”

FF150 arrived in the Philippines from South Korea on May 23 steered by the maiden crew of 65 sailors un-der the command of Capt. Jerry Gar-rido Jr. The crew and the vessel had to undergo quarantine first due to the prevailing coronavirus disease before members of the Technical Inspection and Acceptance Committee (TIAC) could board the ship for examination.

This missile-equipped warship that is capable of carrying-out anti-air, anti-surface, anti-submarine and elec-tronic warfare operations is now the face of the Philippine Navy and a dream-come-true for an organization that envisioned to become stronger and more capable to better serve the country and the Filipino people.▪

opment and transformation for the Philippine Navy” which he applaud-ed “for always delivering the highest standard of service to our country and [the] people.” With this, the President enjoined the Navy to likewise double “the passion and commitment you have already manifested in ensuring the peace and progress truly deserved by our country.”

In the preceding ceremony, Sec-

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The Philippine Navy (PN) held a simple send-off ceremony at Alava Wharf, SBMA, Zambales on July 29 for its contingent who will partici-pate in the world’s premier and larg-est joint and combined naval exercise dubbed as Rim of the Pacific Exercise 2020 (RIMPAC20) in Honolulu, Ha-waii.

The participating Naval Task Group (NTG) 80.5 is onboard the newly-commissioned BRP Jose Rizal (FF150) with an embarked AW109 naval helicopter. NTG 80.5 is led by FF150’s commanding officer, Capt. Jerry Garrido Jr. as the concurrent contingent commander, and comple-mented by the surface, services and support components.

NTG 80.5 contingent underwent rigorous health and safety protocols prior to boarding the participating PN vessel in order to ensure the safe-ty of everyone in this time of the glob-al pandemic.

Navy Flag Officer In Command, Vice Adm. Giovanni Carlo J. Bacordo served as the presiding officer and keynote speaker for the send-off cer-emony. Other PN senior officers who oversaw the ceremony include, Rear Adm. Loumer Bernabe, Command-er of Philippine Fleet, BGen. Armel Tolato, Commander of Fleet Marine Ready Force, Commo. Karl Decapia, Commander of Offshore Combat Force, together with forces and group

commanders and other high-ranking PN officers.

Navy Chief Bacordo said in his remarks that, “our participation in these exercise marks the beginning of a new era of naval operations as we build up our capabilities for modern warfare.”

BRP Jose Rizal is the PN’s first war-ship in the inventory that is equipped with multi-dimensional warfare ca-pabilities. Through RIMPAC20, our Navy will be able to simulate and test the capabilities of this newly acquired platform. This will provide FF150 a venue to test the profiency of person-nel as they integrate in a wider range of operations.

Vice Admiral Bacordo then chal-lenged the contingent, “to maximize your training experience so that when you return home, you will have a lot to share with the rest of the Navy.”

“This will boost your team train-ing and increase your operational readiness. But all of you need to ob-serve safety protocols. In this chal-lenging times, it is imperative to work together, learn together and be safe together,” he added.

In light of the COVID-19 protocols, the exercise will be an at-sea event only. To ensure safety of all the con-tingents from different military forces, shore-based activities are minimized.

PN’s brand new frigate departs for RIMPAC exercise in Hawaii

RIMPAC exercise will run from August 17 to 31, 2020. It is a United States-led naval exercise hosted by the US Navy’s Pacific Fleet and held biennially. It is geared towards build-ing trust and partnership with other navies, understanding the capabil-ities of other navies and enhancing interoperability.

The Navy’s partici-pation in this exercise trumpets its commit-ment in promoting mul-tilateral cooperation leading to the strength-ening of relationship and cooperation among regional and extra re-gional navies.▪

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Navy welcomes returning marine battalion from Tawi-Tawi

The Philippine Navy (PN) accorded an arrival ceremony for the members of the 9th Marine Battalion (9MBn) as they disembarked from BRP Bacolod City (LS550) at Capt. Salvo Pier in Sangley Point, Cavite City on July 02.

The arrival ceremony presided by the Navy chief, Vice Adm. Giovanni Carlo Bacordo was conducted in accor-dance with the “new normal” scheme adhering to health and biosafety pro-tocols.

In his remarks, Vice Admiral Ba-cordo recognized the successful de-ployment of 9th Marine Battalion as testament and proof to the “capabili-ty and competence of our Marines to

respond to emerging security chal-lenges.” In order to sustain these ac-complishments, “it needs to level up to continue to be a proficient Marine Operating Force… [as] every Marine Battalion’s job is about to get harder… due to the rapidly changing, complex, simultaneous and overlapping secu-rity challenges,” added Vice Admiral Bacordo.

The 9MBn, under the command of Lt. Col. Mark Anthony Arabe, arrived in Cavite City from their deployment in the island province of Tawi-Tawi, Sulu and Zamboanga City. They have been deployed in Western Mindan-ao Command’s area of responsibility since 2010.


AFP Chief pays farewell visit to Philippine Navy

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Now that they’re back, the Philippine Marine Corps (PMC) commandant, Major Gen. Nathaniel Casem has placed the 9MBn to non-operational sta-tus for the purpose of retraining that aims to upgrade them into a unit “capable to perform mission-essential task across the full range of military operations” as they are being envisioned “as the first Marine Amphibious Ready Unit to be attached to the Fleet-Marine Ready Force.”

The battalion had been instru-mental in a wide array of operations such as security, combat, support to law enforcement, humanitarian assis-tance and disaster relief, and numer-ous undertakings in support of other government agencies in their area of deployment.

Among the notable accomplish-ments of this battalion were the

neutralization of a number of Abu Sayyaf Group members, interception of smuggled lumbers, illegal drugs, human trafficking victims and illegal immigrants, and rescue of more than a hundred passengers and crew of ill-fated vessel in Tawi-Tawi.

The well-fitting arrival ceremony accorded to the brave men and women of this battalion aimed to honor and recognize their unfaltering commit-ment in keeping the peace and main-taining the order especially in con-flict-ridden areas of the country and amid the COVID-19 pandemic.▪

The Chief of Staff of the Armed Forc-es of the Philippines, Gen. Felimon T. Santos Jr., paid his farewell visit to the Headquarters Philippine Navy (HPN) in Roxas Boulevard, Manila on July 28.

After almost 40 years of military

service, General Santos is set to bow out of service this August after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 56.

At the headquarters, General San-

tos was received by the Flag Officer In Command, Philippine Navy (PN), Vice Adm. Giovanni Carlo J. Bacordo and other Navy senior leaders. The soon-to-retire AFP Chief was accorded with fitting honors followed by a meeting at the HPN Hall of Flags with the Navy Chief wherein the two officials agreed to continue working closely for the bet-

terment of our maritime nation, the two leaders also expressed their confidence that the PN and the AFP will sustain their gains into the com-ing years.

General Santos also

met with several Navy senior leaders where he emphasized the AFP’s critical role in the gov-ernment’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Culminating his visit was the “Talk

to Troops” where he personally ad-dressed the officers, enlisted personnel and civilian employees aboard the HPN and in other Naval units who witnessed the event via video teleconferencing.

In his remarks, the AFP Chief lauds the Philippine Navy for their, “steadfast commitment of providing comprehen-sive maritime security for the whole archipelago and extensively devoting all of your resources and efforts to fast-track modernization bringing you clos-er to fulfilling your vision of becoming a strong and credible Navy that all Fili-pinos can be truly proud of.”

He also expressed his appreciation to the “remarkable” involvement of the PN personnel in the national campaign in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic, “the [Navy’s] versatility in confronting this challenge signifies another big leap the enhancement of the organization’s core competency as we steadily and effectively increase our readiness and adaptability.”

“I urge you to take pride of what you have accomplished during my term

as well as your feats in the future. I am truly proud and honored for the oppor-tunity to lead an organization that is composed of dedicated and committed sailors and marines,” added General Santos.

The Navy chief, Vice Admiral Ba-cordo thanked the CSAFP for giving the commanders the sense of empower-ment and trust, letting them at the dif-ferent levels of command to have free-dom of action guided by a clear sense of direction and intent.

The visit was conducted under the new normal situation with strict adher-ence to health and biosafety protocols such as but not limited to critical social distancing and mandatory wearing of face masks placed by the national gov-ernment in order to stem the transmis-sion of the COVID-19 pandemic.▪

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Navy responds to oil spill incident in Western VisayasThe National Power Barge (NPC) Pow-er Barge 102 exploded last July 03 that resulted to an oil spill contaminating the coastal area and sea waters of ll-oilo City and Guimaras province. The Commander Naval Reserve Center - Western Visayas and Commander, Naval Task Group 1, Capt. Stephen A Tuballa in coordination with Coast Guard Station lloilo immediately pro-vided assistance by providing one re-sponse team for the conduct of oil spill recovery operation. Naval reservists from NRCen-WV, Naval affiliated re-serve squadron tugboat MIT Ana of 502”d NARS (FF Cruz Inc), Patrol Boat of PN (PB349) and PCG floating assets were augmented in the conduct of skimming of spilt oil along lloilo/Gui-maras Straits and Coastal shorelines of Leganes and Dumangas.

During the conduct of the opera-tion, personnel from local government units together with Mr. Jose Roberto

Nunez, Director of Office of Civil De-fense (OCD) 6 and Hon. Samuel Gu-marin, Governor in Province of Guim-aras boarded navy vessel PB349 for the assessment and monitoring the situa-tion along vicinity sea waters off lloilo City and Guimaras. The Navy vessel together with the coast guard floating assets joined in the conduct of survey and sweeping of oil spilt utilizing a sorbent boom along Muelle Loney Wharf,lloilo City and Buenavista, Gui-maras to determine the contaminated coastal areas.

Currently, the oil spill in sea waters of lloilo City and Guimaras has been cleared. PN together with the local government units next step is to con-duct coastal clean-up along the shore-line of Guimaras.

With the ongoing oil spill retrieval operations, PN together with PCG and other LGUs continue to use all avail-able means for the decontamination of the sea waters in lloilo and Guimaras for protection and preservation of ma-rine aquatic resources and provide as-sistance for affected families residing along the shoreline. The Naval Forces Central will continue to render service in conducting naval operations and aid assistance in the people in the Vi-sayas.▪

by: Naval Forces Central PAO

Navy vessels transport relief goods to Balut Island

by: Naval Forces Eastern Mindanao PAO

The Naval Forces Eastern Mindan-ao (NFEM) through BRP Apolinar-io Mabini (PS36) and Multi-purpose Attack Craft (BA 494) transported a total of 6, 422 relief goods to Balut Is-land last June 09 to 11.

The relief goods were loaded to PS36 utilizing the San Miguel Coal Power Plant (SMCPP) pier last June 09. Aside from the relief goods, the working party composed of uni-formed personnel from Provincial Government Office (PGO) of Davao Occidental, Provincial Social Wel-fare & Development (PSWD) – Davao Occidental, 73IB, 10ID, Phil Army; PNP (DOCPMFC) and Malita BFP were accomodated.

In order to have an organized, systematic and safe conduct of the activity, Commo. Antonio C. Palces, Commander NFEM activated Naval Task Group (NTG) Sarangani. Said NTG composed of BRP Apolinario Mabini (PS36) under the command of Cdr. Lemar R. Dela Calzada and Multi-Purpose Attack Craft (BA 494) under Officer-in-Charge. Ltjg. Reymart U. Daduya.

The NTG Sarangani arrived at Balut Island in the early morning of June 10 and immediately started un-loading the goods utilizing the Am-bulance boat of the municipality of Sarangani for ship-to-shore movement of cargoes and passengers.

On the other hand, BA 494 ferried Hon. Virginia Cawa, Sarangani Mu-nicipal Mayor, Ms. Debbie T. Torres, DILG Provincial Director and other lo-cal government unit (LGU) personnel from Malita to Balut Island. The mis-sion was officially terminated upon disembarkation of the LGU back to SMCPP, Malita, Davao Occidental in the afternoon of June 11.

The event was another opportune time for Naval Forces Eastern Mindan-ao to be instrumental in the successful accomplishment of the mission of our LGU especially in the immediate safe and expedient transport of food packs and ferry of personnel. This endeavor manifested the readiness of NFEM to respond and serve our Filipino people not only in Territorial Defense Oper-ation (TDO) but also in Humanitari-an Assistance and Disaster Response (HADR) Operations.▪

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PH Navy now recognizes SPI as its affiliate reserve unit

The Philippine Navy (PN) conducted a simple donning of ranks ceremony at its headquarters in Roxas Boulevard, Manila on July 02 for the three newly promoted flag/general officers.

Rear Adm. Nichols Driz, the Naval Inspector General, Commo. Alfonso Torres Jr, the Commander of the Lit-toral Combat Force of the Philippine Fleet, and Brig. Gen. Armel Tolato, the Commander, Fleet Marine Ready Force (FMRF) were donned with their new ranks in a simple ceremony that ad-hered to the health and safety measures placed by the government amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Navy Flag Officer In Command, Vice Adm. Giovanni Carlo Bacordo, who led the ceremony lauded the three flag officers for showing “us [the Navy] what it takes to be a Flag Officer. We saw in them what a star truly means – to be a beacon and to inspire the future Navy leaders to value honor, dedica-

PH Navy dons newly promoted flag officers

tion, patriotism, leadership, solidarity and professionalism in our daily lives.”

He then challenged the newly pro-moted officers to measure up to the con-fidence placed in them and to achieve, “even greater success in your service for the good of our country.”

Among Rear Admiral Driz’ nota-ble assignments in the PN were as the commander of Naval Installation Com-mand, Naval Forces Northern Luzon and Naval Intelligence and Security Force.

Commodore Torres previously served as the staff officer for Intelligence (N2) and Operations (N3). He was also deployed overseas as the PN Liaison Officer to Bahrain in 2016 to 2018 and one of the pioneers of the Submarine Development Office.

Prior to being commander of FMRF, Brig. Gen. Tolato was assigned as the deputy commander for Marine Opera-tions in Naval Forces Western Mindan-ao, commander of PMRF Sulu and 7th Marine Batallion commander.

This ceremonial donning of ranks serves to celebrate the milestone in the career of these three senior offi-cers achieved through hard work and sacrifice.▪

The entry of SYNET-COM Philippines , Inc. (SPI) into the Philippine Navy Affiliated Reserve Unit (PNARU) has offi-cially started after the PN and SPI signed a Mem-orandum of Agreement (MOA) at the Headquar-ters Philippine Navy in Manila on July 8.

The Navy Chief, Vice Adm. Giovanni Carlo J.

products and several ICT systems, which provide technical expertise and design other solutions that can com-plement in building a robust cyber capability. The SPI with its technical expertise on Information and Com-munications Technology will be a sig-nificant addition to the current efforts of the Philippine Navy in building-up its Cyber Warfare Capability.

The signing of memorandum of agreement between the Philippine Navy and SYNETCOM Philippines, Inc. highlights the PN’s commitment in providing unfaltering service by exerting efforts that will contribute to the development and security of our maritime nation.▪

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Bacordo and SPI President and CEO, Mr. Dennis C. Luyahan signed the MOA as witnessed by other key offi-cials from both parties. This will be eventually endorsed for the approval of the Secretary of National Defense. Pri-or to this, the latter was accorded with a warm reception by the HPN staff.

Navy Chief Vice Admiral Bacor-do described the signing of MOA be-tween PN and SPI as “very timely” as the Navy “have been developing and improving our Reservist Utiliza-tion Plan in the Conflict Continuum, something I think is very relevant as we increase our operational readiness during peace time and our warfight-ing readiness during crisis.”

He then lauded the SPI for volun-teering in military service “without expecting anything in return” and de-scribed it as “a true act of service.”

SPI is a privately owned compa-ny engaged in the distribution of I.T.


AFP Chief of Staff visits AFP’s Northernmost Detachment in Mavulis

by: Naval Forces Northern Luzon PAO

On July 09, 2020 the Chief of Staff, Armed Forces of the Philip-pines and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Gen-eral Filemon T. Santos Jr., reached the north-ernmost island of the country, Mavulis in the Province of Batanes, for an official visit of the Naval Detachment in the island.

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs was officially received by Cdr. Junmar Sales, the official repre-sentative of the Naval Forces North-ern Luzon (NFNL) Command, who escorted General Santos in his tour of the facilities on the island. The es-tablishment of the naval detachment in Mavulis Island is considered to be a highly significant strategic initiative of the AFP. It strengthens the Philip-pines’ ownership over the island and clearly asserts its sovereign rights over its national territories. The de-tachment also functions to assist and protect local fishermen who fish in the area. The location also provides a strategic littoral monitoring platform for all vessels transiting our northern boundaries.

The official visit of General Santos coincided with the groundbreaking activity for the Desalination Plant System Project in the island which the Chief of Staff, AFP graciously led. The desalination project at Mavulis Island

is an initiative of General Santos.

One of the highlights of the vis-it was a symbolic Flag Raising with the troops which the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs after which he deliv-ered his message of congratulations and appreciation to the construction team and to the personnel assigned at the naval detachment. He also made a commitment to the troops that he will endeavor to provide them with more recreational facilities in the is-land, ordered the study for the con-struction of a cellular communication system to improve access to commu-nication, and to explore the possibil-ity of granting Hazardous Duty Pay to all assigned troops in the Mavulis detachment.

The Chief of Staff, AFP was accom-panied by Joint Forces Commander Northern Luzon, Lt. Gen. Ramiro Manuel A. Rey and other senior offi-cers of GHQ and NOLCOM.▪

Navy vessels transport relief goods, stranded persons to Bongao, Tawi-Tawi

by: Naval Forces Western Mindanao PAO

As part of the Philippine Navy’s hu-manitarian assistance and disaster response (HADR) operations with-in Joint Task Force-Tawi-Tawi’s area of operations, BRP Emilio Jacinto (PS35) successfully assisted the Min-istry of Social Services and Develop-ment-Tawi-Tawi (MSSD-Tawi-Tawi) and the Integrated Provincial Health Office-Tawi-Tawi (IPHO-Tawi-Tawi) in delivering assorted relief goods and Rapid Test Kits intended for the families affected by the COVID-19 in Mapun Island, Tawi-Tawi and sub-sequently transported stranded per-sons back to Bongao, Tawi-Tawi with the assistance of BRP Juan Magluyan (PC392) last July 21.

Loaded with an approximate total of 3 tons assorted relief goods which includes 50 sacks of rice, 21 boxes of canned corned beef, 23 boxes of canned sardines, 30 boxes of canned tuna, 38 boxes of instant noodles, one box of coffee, ten boxes of soy sauce and one bundle of plastic bag and rap-id testing kits with an estimated cost of Php 323,000.00. PS35 left for Mapun Island, Tawi-Tawi to support the local government in its efforts to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 in the region.

In partnership with the JTF Ta-wi-Tawi and the local government of Tawi-Tawi, the goods were success-fully turned-over to its recipients via M/L Trisha Mae 1 at the vicinity of the said island municipality. Moreover, 11 civilians, composed of ten per-sonnel from MSSD – Tawi Tawi and

one non-uniformed PNP personnel of Mapun Police Station were accom-modated aboardship and were ferried and subsequently turned-over to BRP Juan Magluyan (PC392) to ferry back to Bongao, Tawi-Tawi. Said individ-uals were stranded at Mapun Island for months due to unavailability of watercrafts to ferry them back to their respective homes.

The Philippine Navy through the Naval Forces Western Mindanao and its operating Fleet-Marine units under Joint Task Force Tawi-Tawi headed by Col. Arturo A. Rojas will continue to be an active partner of the Provincial Government of Tawi Tawi in the con-duct of Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Response Operations within its area of operations.▪


PN conducts Human Rights Advocacy Lecture to frontliners at NRC

by: Ms. Maria Vanessa I. Bernardo Civ HR

The Navy Human Rights Mobile Ad-vocacy Team conducted the second leg of the Human Rights, Internation-al Humanitarian Law and the Rule of Law advocacy lectures to personnel of Naval Reserve Command on July 14 at Headquarters Naval Reserve Com-mand (NRC), Intramuros, Manila.

The NRC was the second unit vis-ited by the NHRO after the implemen-tation of the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) in Metro Manila in mid-March this year. The NHRO initi-ated a half-day lecture from the usu-al long day lecture to limit and pre-vent the exposure of the attendees to COVID-19. Moreover, the NHRO and NRC ensured that health protocols and social distancing were strictly ob-served during the conduct of the lec-ture while other preventive measures were also observed and implemented.

The NHRO Mobile Advocacy Team was assisted by the Interna-tional Committee of the Red Cross - Philippines (ICRC-PH) in which, Mr. Ricardo M. Lucero Jr., ICRC Military Program Manager, discussed the prin-ciples of IHL. Likewise, Maj. Kristofer S. Tagufa from the Naval Judge Ad-vocate General (NJAG), discussed the different local laws including the new-ly signed law, Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020. The Deputy, NRC, Col. Hernanie S. Songano likewise graced the activi-ty by giving his closing remarks and headed the awarding of Certificate of Appreciation to the Guest lecturer and

Certificate of Attendance to the partic-ipants.

Furthermore, pre- and post-test questionnaires were also distributed before and after the conduct of the lecture to assess the attendee’s prior knowledge and to determine if they acquired knowledge on the topics discussed. The conduct of HR/IHL/RoL advocacy lectures aims to give our frontliners with the essential knowledge about HR and IHL that they can use in their daily lives while performing their duties specially in these trying times where the ser-vices of the organization are need-ed the most. Further, it will support the NHRO’s objective of preventing Human Rights Violations (HRVs) in-volving PN personnel by providing them the necessary tools and infor-mation that they need to make smart and informed decisions, both in their professional and personal lives. Last-ly, the NHRO ensures that despite the ongoing pandemic, it will continue to perform its responsibility in adher-ing HR and IHL to its personnel and stakeholders.▪

On March 16, 2020, after conclud-ing that more restrictions in people’s movement are necessary to contain the spread of COVID-19, President Ro-drigo Duterte placed the entire island of Luzon under Enhanced Communi-ty Quarantine (ECQ) and ordered the implementation of stringent social dis-tancing measures. This included the suspension of mass transport, the tem-porary closure of various businesses, the adoption of strict work from home scheme for most industries to facil-itate household quarantine, and the increase in the presence of uniformed personnel in the identified Quarantine Assistance Stations (QAS) and Tactical Command Posts (TCPs). The ECQ was extended twice, a move that has im-peded the spread of the virus but se-verely affected the macro-economics as well as many individual’s ability to earn a living.

Effective April 01, with the strin-gent ECQ measures in the desire to cat-alyze the virus and “flatten the curve”, the government started studying the possibility of relaxing this measures into what is known as the General Community Quarantine (GCQ), in

NAVAL TASK FORCE 83: WE SERVE OUR PURPOSE

by: Fleet-Marine Ready Force PAO

which economic activities will par-tially resume and physical movement shall be less restricted, while still ob-serving physical distancing and other protective measures that shall be con-sidered as the “new normal”.

As part of the Philippine Navy’s response in the outbreak, the Naval Task Group – National Capital Region 83.1 under the leadership of Capt. Lem-uel E. Espartinez, overall Commander of Naval Task Force 83, was created to conduct range of military operations to support Joint Task Force-National Cap-ital Region (JTF-NCR) in support to the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Man-agement of Emerging Infectious Dis-ease (IATF-MEID) and the whole gov-ernment efforts in order to prevent and or to contain the spread of COVID-19 in NCR. NTF83 is under the direct admin-istrative supervision of Fleet-Marine Ready Force under the leadership of its Commander, Brig.Gen. Armel S. Tola-to and under the Operational Control (OPCON) of JTF-NCR.

With the mission at hand, the NTG 83.1 of NTF83 promptly organized its teams composed of brave men and

FEATURE ARTICLES

PN ROUGHDECKLOG 2120 PHILIPPINE NAVY20 PHILIPPINE NAVY

women of the PN and PMC tasked to man the different QAS and TCPs and to its operational deployments. At the start of the outbreak, the 12th Marine Battalion which at that time was in retraining and refur-bishing phase was put under the OPCON of the then NTG -NCR to sup-port COVID-19-related deployments.

craft transiting in the area in connec-tion with the implementation of the ECQ in NCR.

One of the key players in this campaign against COVID-19 are the dauntless volunteer reservists of the AFP under the sterling leadership of its Provisional Commander, Ltc. Ra-mil DC Holgado. These dedicated vol-unteer reservists, unselfishly devoted their time in manning their respective posts and sacrificing their personal safety and security just to perform their sworn duty for the protection of the populace. Their contribution to the NTG-NCR’s overall mission is immea-surable and a notable one.

More so, in order to support the government’s national program, the NTG-NCR was also designated to pro-vide security for an effective and safe distribution of the Social Ameliora-

tion Program (SAP) intended for the less fortunate families in NCR during these trying times amid COVID-19 pandemic.

On the other hand, the govern-ment’s campaign against COVID-19 would not be effective without the constant reminders to the communi-ty and with that, the NTG-NCR also employs Civil Military Operations Unit-NCR purposely to conduct se-ries of loudspeaker operations and mobile visibility patrols in the cities of Muntinlupa, Las Piñas, Parañaque, Pasay, Mandaluyong, San Juan and Marikina.

The said loudspeaker operations are in tandem with the PNP and it aims to inform and encourage the public to abide by the government’s call for unity in its war against COVID-19. Likewise, the Civil Mili-tary Operations Unit-National Capital Region (CMOU-NCR), the main effort in conducting the loudspeaker opera-tions, focuses in areas with high cas-es of COVID-19 particularly in public markets and other business areas that are congested and have people who are not observing proper social/phys-ical distancing.

The Philippine Navy believe that through loudspeaker operations, the PN and the AFP as a whole will be able to explain to our people the essence of the presidential directive thereby ig-niting every citizen’s sense of patrio-tism and civic duty to do their share and give each utmost cooperation. It is

also one of the best and very effective platform to remind the community and the public to stay at home and be heroes in their own little way.

With the developing situation and increasing number of COVID-19 cases, the NTF83 as a whole was also tasked to secure one of the most vital institu-tion in Luzon which is Ninoy Aquino International Airports Terminal 2 and 3 (NAIA 2/3) and MRT Stations par-ticularly at Pasay Taft and Ayala Sta-tions in order to facilitate the Locally Stranded Individuals (LSIs) and the massive number of commuters and other workers in Metro Manila during the implementation of GCQ. The unit’s endeavor is in support to the Depart-ment of Transportation (DOTr) initia-tive in order to have an organize and peaceful operation of all airports and other means of transportation in NCR.

Finally, as we enhance our efforts to face enormous tasks and challenges caused by COVID-19, the Philippine Navy through the NTF83 together with its ever committed and dedicated Officers and personnel shall continue and even intensify the execution of its respective tasks in support to IATF-MEID and the national government as a whole.

With the great tasks at hand, the Naval Task Force 83 will be relentless in executing its mandated mission in support not only to the accomplish-ment of the Philippine Navy’s mission but also the Armed Forces of the Phil-ippines in general.▪

PN ROUGHDECKLOG 21

To effectively implement the lock-down system in the whole Metro Manila, the NTG-NCR with the keen guidance of JTF-NCR, strategically placed its TCPs/QAS in areas of Cavi-tex, Zapote, Marikina, Susana Heights and Filinvest, respectively.

Further, aside from containing the spread of the virus, the NTG 83.1 is also in tandem with the Philippine National Police (PNP) and other Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) as well as respective LGU to ensure that the rule of law is maintained as well as protecting the health and safety of the populace. Likewise, personnel de-ployed in the different QAS are also working side by side with the PNP counterparts in facilitating the con-duct of Rapid Pass Assistance to all authorized persons outside residence during the implementation of ECQ.

Another significant deployment of NTG-NCR is the seaborne patrols per-formed by the Naval Special Opera-tions Group (NAVSOG) onboard their Patrol Boats/RHIB covering Manila Bay and other coastal municipalities of NCR. Their task is to conduct series of maritime patrols in order to secure our waters from any suspicious water-


Clean, Repair, Plant and Share… The APOMABS WayBRP Apolinario Mabini (PS36), com-monly known as “APOMABS” shares its skills and blessings to the people of Olanivan and Sarangani Islands, Saran-gani, Davao Occidental from July 16 to 18 as part of its pre-anniversary activities. Both islands are two of the three south-ernmost islands of our country before reaching the common borders of Phil-ippines-Indonesia where our vessel has been conducting Maritime Patrol (MAR-PAT) and Territorial Defense Operations (TDO) under the guidance of Commo-dore Antonio C Palces PN, Commander, Naval Forces Eastern Mindanao.

The following pre-anniversary ac-tivities included: “Clean-up” Drive at Olanivan Island (the first-ever clean-up conducted in the said island); “REPAIR” through Brigada Eskwela at Jose De Arce Memorial National High School (JDAMNSH) (1 to 2-hour up-hill walk from the shore to the mountain depend-ing on the weather); “PLANT” through Mangrove-Planting at Falak Ba-I Beach

by: Lt. Frances Mae M. Pendon PN

Marine Sanctuary; and SHARE thru “gift-giving” of school bags complete with school supplies and recruitment information kit or bookmark of PS36 to kids ages five to eight years old at Malu-co Cawa Alliance Chapel of Sarangani Island, Sarangani, Davao Occidental. The activities were successfully con-ducted through the help of Sarangani Municipality Mayor, Hon. Virginia T. Cawa and Municipal Admin Officer, Ms. Jai T. Cawa.

On July 16, the Coastal Clean-up at the pristine beach of Olanivan, APOM-ABS Team together with the Municipal Environmental & Natural Resources Office (MENRO), Municipal Tourism, DILG, PNP, Philippine Army, MAO and PCG were able to meet our target – even exceeded it, with 102 sacks of garbage collected.

On July 17, the Team trekked the 2.2 km trails on foot, from the shore of Brgy. Laker to the peak where JDAMNSH

nance work for this public secondary school in Sarangani Island. One of the highlights of the activity was being able to brainstorm with the Schools Division of District Supervisor Dr. Almer Davis, on how the Philippine Navy can help appease the pandemic effects to the children and teachers during these try-ing times. The Team proposed possible assistance that PN could extend practi-cally to the learners and teachers in AP-OMABS’ Post Anniversary activities in the following weeks.

On July 18, the APOMABS Team together with Municipal Government of Sarangani, MAO, PENRO and PCG, planted 500 mangrove seedlings and held beach clean-up not only to help preserve biodiversity, but more impor-tantly preserve a vital resource for local communities in Sarangani.

Furthermore, the activity was capped with the gift-giving of school bags to 50 little children of Cawa Alli-ance Church assisted by the Municipal Government of Sarangani led by May-or Virginia T. Cawa. Among the four activities, this was seemed to be filling Team APOMABS “love tanks” more es-pecially when the Team saw the trans-formation of a kid who was crying when they arrived (accordingly, most children

in this area are afraid of soldiers) into a child who clings to his school bag while posing in front of the camera on the lap of one of our troop’s security personnel.

These activities dubbed with a theme “Clean, Repair, Plant & Share…the APOMABS way” was part of BRP Apolinario Mabini’s initiative and unique way of celebrating its 23rd an-niversary which will be held on August 04. The officers and men donated their two-day meals and solicited sponsors/donors in order to raise funds. Aside from the usual clean-ups and mangrove planting, they also shared their skills in carpentry, electricity/maintenance and painting for the school chairs and class-room.

“Since our vessel and the Munici-pality of Sarangani have been engaging in multifarious tasks of bringing ser-vices to the people for some time now, I initiated to introduce my navy team to the people of Sarangani, especially to the youth, through a series of activities which in high hopes, will bring more collaborative outputs in the future – all towards the efforts of bringing peace and security to our country even in the face of this pandemic,” said Command-er Dela Calzada, Commanding Officer of BRP Apolinario Mabini.▪

known as “Sangkokda-tal” is located. With the assistance of the Munici-pal Government of Saran-gani, Philippine Army (73rd IB) and DepEd Heads and Teachers, the Team were able to trans-form one classroom from topsy-turvy to a spic-and-span and ready for class-room instruction; fixed and repainted 53 school chairs; and did mainte-


Reliable Partners During Crisis Naval Reservists in the Visayas:

Naval Forces Central has two Naval Reserve Centers under its oper-ational control: The Na-val Reserve Center-East-ern Visayas (NRCen-EV) located in Cebu City and Naval Reserve Cen-ter-Western Visayas (NRCen-WV) located in Iloilo City. Their overall mission is to organize, train, equip, and admin-ister naval reservists on

by: Naval Forces Central PAO

assigned area of responsibility in or-der to provide the Philippine Navy the base for expansion in the event of national emergencies and assist in socio-economic development of the country. NRCs motivate reservist’s cooperation in CMO projects, PNARU program and other socio-economic programs. They are also responsible for the conduct of NROTC program and processing of qualified advance NROTC graduates and civilians for enlistment and/or commission in the Reserve Force.

NRCEN-EASTERN VISAYAS

NRCen-EV headed by its com-mander, CAPT JOHN A BAR-RAMEDA PN (GSC), assured that the navy reservists and civilian person-nel are actively participating in dif-ferent CMO activities in their respec-tive AOR.

With the current COVID-19 crisis,

Naval Forces Central through Naval Reserve Center-Eastern Visayas has been involved in series of community services thru continuing augmenta-tion of navy reservist for the conduct of security and relief operations as well as feeding program in different cities and municipalities in Region 7 - Central Visayas (Cebu, Bohol, Siqui-jor and Negros Oriental and Region 8 - Eastern Visayas (Leyte, Samar and Biliran Province).

In the implementation of En-hanced Community Quarantine, re-servist personnel of NRCen-EV were augmented in manning the different checkpoints for border control points and ECQ assistance implementation. They have been our advocates in im-plementing health safety protocols and policies in different barangays and communities in Region 7 and 8.

Due to the pandemic, hospitals have been reporting shortages in the

blood bank stocks. Civilian stake-holders tapped NRCen-EV to take part in bloodletting activities in col-laboration with Vicente Sotto Hospi-tal Blood Bank wherein PN sailors and marines under regular and re-serve force willingly donated blood to help save more lives of patients especially among in-patients severely infected with Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).

In collaboration with various stakeholders, NRCen-EV collected significant volume of PPEs donations from LGUs, LEAs and other civilian organization and distributed it to Reservist units in Region 7 and 8 for use of our troops and medical front-liners. Likewise, this center also fa-cilitated and delivered the PPEs and medical kits donated by Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to the different provincial health office in Negros, Dumaguete and VSMMC in Cebu City.

Moreover, during this time of cri-sis, they activated a mobile kitchen which has been operating in order to feed indigent families of selected de-pressed communities in Metro-Cebu. The mobile kitchen’s staff is manned by Navy Reservists, managed by Sim-plyShare Foundation in collaboration with the Rotary Club of Cebu. Reservist personnel also assist in the re-packing of relief goods at DSWD, VDRC, Upper Tingub, Mandaue City and Dumaguete.

NRCEN-WESTERN VISAYAS

Naval Reserve Cen-

ter-Western Visayas is headed by its Commander, Capt. Stephen A. Tub-alla, responsible for different Naval Reserve Units in Panay, Negros and Guimaras Island. Their mission is to organize ready force and standby re-serve force in AOR, aids in disaster and response operations and provide training to reservists.

Significantly, NRCen-WV has been

our prime responder in the recently Oil Spill incident in Iloilo and Gui-maras, wherein Naval Task Group 1 in coordination with Coast Guard Station Iloilo immediately provided assistance for the conduct of oil con-tamination and retrieval operation. Navy reservists’ boarded Navy vessel PB349 together with the local gov-ernment units successfully cleared the seawaters of Iloilo and Guimaras from oil spilled and continues coastal clean-up activities in the shoreline of Guimaras.

24 PHILIPPINE NAVY PN ROUGHDECKLOG 25


Two Faces of Pandemic

by: Office of the Naval Chief Chaplain

Black and white. The basic hue of ev-ery liturgical celebration by the man of cloth is black and white. For mar-riage, its either the man wears a black suit and the bride in a long, gorgeous and elegant bridal dress in pure white or both of them are in white and the attendees in black. For funeral, people may either choose to wear black dress which signals their bereavement or white clothing which anticipates the purity of heavenly dignity that every dead is hoping to attain. Aside from the countless invocations, house blessings, send-off ceremonies, these two liturgi-cal celebrations are the most function-al in the event of COVID-19 pandemic so that they describe how the chaplain service is at work in this rare time in history. Indeed a blend of marriage and funeral, composes the two faces of pan-demic. In one scenario, a joyful celebra-tion and on the other hand, a celebra-tion of bereavement.

A joyful celebration. This pandemic has brought to the new normal. People wearing face mask all over the country. Some would use face shield and wear gadgets to repel the virus to the extent that they would look like robots in their futuristic “robocop” attire roam-ing around malls to assist people. Some would wear PPE’s which look less than an astronaut and more like a surgeon in

medical garb walking along the streets with other ordinary people. A wedding few months back reminds me of a cou-ple in their wedding attire with match-ing mask on for the whole duration of the celebration. When the time to kiss the bride comes towards the end of the celebration, both the couple would re-move their mask and do the traditional kissing of the newly wedded couple. Though it sounds quite non-sense to comply to the tradition but the humor of it is inevitable and the culprit of such humor is the pandemic.

Another face of this pandemic is a sorrowful one. Shade of black encapsu-lates the sad event of a funeral. We have enjoyed life so much that detaching from the person whom we have spent quite a time must be a painful experi-ence. I would relate our experience of death to the time when a locally strand-ed individual (LSI) finally comes home. Death is a process of coming home. An LSI bidding goodbye to one’s newly found friend in those tents or byways where they spend their difficult time together. Their goodbyes are some-how painful just like every experience of letting go but hopeful because after the long wait, finally they are coming home.

In this pandemic a lot in our human

For the 1st semester 2020, NRCen-WV this concentrated in the conduct of recruitment of reservists and train-ings particularly in the coastal areas, cities and municipalities of Western Visayas as part of reserve force devel-opment initiative. Also, the center was able to fill-up the depleted number of reservists to different reserve units under the newly activated NF(R)-WV.

Likewise, NRCen-WV successfully participated in the conduct of vari-ous Civil Military Operations activi-ties within the area of responsibility namely coastal clean-up/ clean-up drive and bloodletting which were recognized by different stakehold-ers which developed/ established inter-agency good working relation-ship.

NFC thru NRCen-WV continues to provide navy reservists as securi-ty augmentation in conducting pro-vincial border restriction blockade to checkpoints in different municipali-ties in Region 6 and quarantine areas for persons under monitoring (PUMs).

Furthermore, Navy reservists also

hauled and received the much-need-ed PPEs for proper disposition and distribution to Regional Inter-Agen-

cy Task Force VI during the arrival of navy vessel BRP BATAK (LC299) in Iloilo City Pier. NRCen-WV, 823rd Naval Squadron together with United Reservist Producers Cooperative con-ducted feeding program in Boracay.

They also welcomed the arrival of one of the PN Strategic Vessel, BRP Davao Del Sur (LD602), as she arrived in Iloilo City Pier last June 23 carrying 402 Iloilo-bound locally stranded indi-viduals (LSI), 32,000 sets of PPEs and medical supplies for the frontliners.

In conclusion, the zealous efforts made by Naval Reserve Centers East-ern and Western Visayas not only showed how dedicated and commit-ted our reservist personnel to their sworn duty, but also have the heart to help our fellow countrymen. Their deeds and achievements are a great help and important for the continuing assistance in community service and promoting socio-economic activities in health, well-being and develop-ment in the Visayas. Truly, your Naval Reservists in the Visayas is indeed a reliable partner during crisis. More so, the Naval Forces Central is one with the Visayas Region and the na-tion in combatting this unseen enemy until it is defeated.▪



28 PHILIPPINE NAVY28 PHILIPPINE NAVY28 PHILIPPINE NAVY

ANNOUNCEMENT

BEST PHOTOBy: Naval Public Affairs Office

BEST ARTICLE

BAYANIHAN LABAN SA COVID-19

By: Office of the AC of NS for CMO, N7

PN ROUGHDECKLOG 29

NEED TO KNOW

HISTORY

THE PHILIPPINE EXPEDITIONARY FORCE TO KOREA

TRIVIA

PN ROUGHDECKLOG 29

The use of sideboys is a custom inherited from the British Navy. In the days of sail, gangways weren’t frequently used so sailors boarded ship by climbing the rope ladders. Important persons were granted the privilege of wrestling with the jacob’s ladder. Very im-portant persons, many of whom were rather hefty or aged, were hoisted aboard in a bos’un’s chair.

The officer of the deck instructed the bos’un’s to rig a chair hoist from a yardarm and, with much heaving and hoeing, the VIPs were hoisted aboard much like casks of salt horse. The men who did the hoisting were called sideboys.

Today, sailors lined up in clean uniforms on the quarterdeck when visiting dignitaries embark are still called sideboys, preserving another naval tradition.

SIDEBOYS

LST 75 ferrying Korean veterans (PEFTOK) from the war front to Manila then led by Colonel Dionisio Ojeda.

28 PHILIPPINE NAVY

existence has died. Not only our rela-tives, friends or acquaintances but the very stream of our ordinary lives has died. To mention some, our social life is dying, our economy is dying but their is hope to all this, the “new normal”. When we finally realize that all death is a process of coming home, then we wel-come the “new normal” as our home.

We find our way towards “home” in a more creative way. While we balance the humor and the suffering, the two faces of this pandemic; we open our eyes to the future with hope that some-day everything will be well. A cure is on its way, a healing from the pains of the past is approaching and that is our hope.▪


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