CGPA installs new 52nd Engineer Brigade Commander
FORT BONIFACIO, Metro Manila – The Commanding General, Philippine Army (CGPA) installed a new Commander of 52nd Engineer Brigade (52nd EBde) on August 15, 2021, at Camp Col Oscar Natividad, Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon.
Maj. Gen. Andres Centino presided the turnover of leadership from the outgoing 52nd EBde Commander Brig. Gen. Rommel Hinlo to the incoming Commander, Col. Francis Marlon Wong.
Prior to his current stint, Col. Wong was the Deputy Brigade Commander of 52nd EBde and has held key positions in the said Brigade since 1994. He was also designated as the Commanding Officer of the 534th and 512th Engineer Combat Battalion in 2014 and 2016, respectively. He also served in the 53rd Engineer Brigade, the Training and Doctrine Command, and in the Office of the Chief of Engineers, Armed Forces of the Philippines.
Col. Wong is a member of the Officer Candidate School (OCS) Class of 1992. A graduate of BS Civil Engineering and is a licensed engineer, Col. Wong has also acquired a Master’s Degree in Public Management Major in Development Security as well as a Master’s in National Security Administration. Additionally, he completed the Applied Geodesy and Photogrammetry in the University of the Philippines Diliman on top of various courses he finished in the Office of the Civil Defense.
Meanwhile, Brig. Gen. Hinlo, who entered the military service in 1989 through Direct Commission, will be retiring after his 33 years of military service. Under his leadership, the 52nd EBde conducted various developmental projects in far-flung areas of Mindanao. The projects include the rehabilitation of farm-to-market roads in Salay, Misamis Oriental; restoration of logging roads, road repairs and widening, and opening of resettlement roads in different areas of Agusan del Sur and Bukidnon. The Brigade was also key in the construction of classrooms for Lumads in numerous sitios in Davao del Norte, school buildings in Davao City; and the creation of makeshift school buildings in the sitios of Marihatag, Surigao del Sur. In partnership with stakeholders, the 52nd EBde supervised the establishment of a 50-meter Cable Suspended Steel Bridge in the Paquibato District. Further, the Brigade was also instrumental in enhancing the living and working conditions of the troops by constructing and repairing various camp and medical facilities in East Mindanao Command, 4th Infantry Division, 10th Infantry Division, 901st Infantry Brigade; Mindanao Army Training Group; 701st Infantry Brigade; 401st Infantry Brigade; 8th Special Forces Company; and the 3rd Special Forces Battalion.
“As the Army’s developmental arm in this region, your role is vital to the overall success of the AFP’s mission, most especially now that we are dealing with a wide range of threats, including the prevailing health crisis. As such, continue to do what you have been doing best, which is to help achieve our nation’s aspiration of socio-economic development and lasting peace,” noted Maj. Gen. Centino.#