Honoring an Icon in the field of CMO

As CMOR celebrates another year of its operations, we look back and honor the legacy of one of the icons of the unit who made a significant imprint in the field of Psychological Operations. Last October 30, the Regiment held a simple but meaningful unveiling ceremony of a new multi-purpose hall in the Headquarters building. The facility was christened Jarque Hall, named after Capt Jose Rene N Jarque, a former Civil-Military Operations Group staff officer in charge of its Psychological Operations,

A graduate of the prestigious US Military Academy, also known as West Point, Capt Jarque began his stint in the Philippine Army as an officer in the 1st Scout Ranger Regiment. As he honed his skills, his accomplishments in the field of CMO stood out. He was proficiently conducting Psychological Operations, a relatively new concept at that time, as an effective tool to complement civil-military operations in Philippine Army insurgency campaigns. PSYOPs are operations to convey selected information to target audiences to influence their emotions, beliefs, opinions and behaviors. Most noteworthy of his successes in this regard was the liberation of several barangays that were known as NPA Strongholds in the foothills of Sierra Madre and forest region in 1990s. Realizing PSYOPs as an essential tool for mission accomplishment, he passionately developed the PSYOPs doctrine in 1991 while he was commander of PSYOPs branch entitled A Handbook on Psychological Operations. This manual laid the foundation of the Psychological Operations for the Philippine Army and subsequently in the AFP. A prolific writer, a passionate officer, and a visionary, Capt Jarque committed his efforts to establish PSYOPs as an instrument to defeat the enemy without firing a single shot by influencing the minds of the enemy and weakening their will to fight. With the effective impact of his doctrines and bright ideas, he earned the distinction of being an icon in the arena of Psyops.

The inauguration of the Jarque Hall became more significant with the valued presence of Mrs Grace C Jarque, widow of Capt Jarque, their son Ryan, now a doctor of medicine, and daughters Hannah and Marla. Also present were Captain Jarque’s father, Brig Gen Raymundo Jarque (Ret), himself a former commander of PA Civil Relations and Information Service, (now known as CMO Regiment) and wife Xenia. A short audio-visual presentation, entitled A Psyops Specialist, was presented during the activity, with former co-workers of “Jarks” as he was fondly called, recalling his character and immense contributions to PSYOPs and CMO today. It was COL ARVIN R LAGAMON, CMO Regiment commander, who brainchild the idea of naming the new hall in honor of Sir Jarks to perpetuate his legacy in Psyops.

The Jarque Hall is likewise dedicated to past and present CMO Operators of CMOR, who have served tirelessly and contributed their efforts to win the hearts and minds of the people. PSYOPs as one of the Pillars of CMO, will always be an instrument to influence and inspire towards positive change and nation-building.