FORT BONIFACIO, Metro Manila - In a Change of Chief of Office Ceremony, the Philippine Army Office of the International Military Affairs (Provisional) (OIMA (P)) got its new chief here today, Mar. 10, 2020.
During the ceremony, Army Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Rowen S. Tolentino led the handing over of OIMA office symbol from the outgoing acting chief, Col. Rommel R. Cordova to the incoming chief, Col. Ferdinand Rey G. Ga.
Prior to his new post, Ga served as the Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations. He started his military career as a member of the Philippine Military Academy “Maalab” Class of 1993 and was able to accomplish the Armed Forces of the Philippines Command and General Staff Course in 2013, the United Nations Peacekeeping Operations Training in 2000 as well as the Overseas Joint Warfare Course in 2010. He also accomplished three Master’s Degrees including Community Development from the University of the Philippines Diliman, Public Management Program Major in Development Security from the Development Academy of the Philippines, and National Security Administration from the National Defense College of the Philippines. Ga was formerly the Commanding Officer of the 4th Field Artillery Battalion of the Army Artillery Regiment (AAR), the Chief of Staff of AAR and Civil-Military Operations of the Philippine Battalion of the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor.
“Rest assured that I will do my duties and responsibilities to the best of my abilities [and] to work with commitment as guided by the four strategic thrusts of the CGPA. Foremost, to strive for excellence towards the attainment of the objective of the International Defense and Security Engagements and other military diplomacy initiatives,” shared Ga.
On the other hand, Cardova, who recently assumed as the new Assistant Chief of Staff for Plans and Programs, received recognition for OIMA (P)’s accomplishments under his leadership. Through the OIMA (P), the Army was able to conduct numerous International Defense and Security Engagement related programs and activities. Part of this is the facilitation of the signing of Terms of Reference with Royal Brunei Land Forces as well as the establishment of relations with non-traditional partners such as Spain, Russia, and Israel in 2019.
“Nurture the growing bond between our organization and the international community. Represent the best of our army,” said Tolentino. “Achieving our vision needs the habit of inquiring, prospecting, and comprehending. We need diplomacy. We need OIMA. As an Army, let us embody principled diplomacy. Let us be a world-class Army,” he added.#