Salamat is next NOLCOM chief

Turnover ceremony will take place at NOLCOM headquarters at Camp Aquino, Tarlac City (Photo: Northern Luzon Command, AFP/Facebook)

MANILA — Philippine Marine Commandant (PMC), Major Gen. Emmanuel B. Salamat will assume Monday the helm of the Northern Luzon Command (NOLCOM).

Turnover ceremony will take place at NOLCOM headquarters at Camp Aquino, Tarlac City.

Salamat, a member of Philippine Military Academy Class 1985, will be replacing Lt. Gen. Romeo Tanalgo, of PMA Class 1985, who will be retiring on Sept. 5.

“Major Gen Emmanuel B. Salamat is one of the finest among contemporary generals (of the ) PMC. He epitomizes the amalgam of a Marine warrior and a compassionate leader,” AFP public affairs office chief, Col. Edgard Arevalo said Sunday.

He is cut-and-dried for the PMC and higher and more significant posts like NOLCOM, he said, adding that Salamat has undergone the different echelons of command and leadership in the AFP.

“From command of a Marine Platoon shortly after graduating from the Philippine Military Academy “Sandiwa” Class of 1985, he rose to Company, Battalion, and Brigade Commands. He reached the pinnacle of his career in the PMC when he was installed as the Commandant of the Corps — a position most coveted by every Marine Officer,” Arevalo added.

Aside from this, Salamat is a fellow of Centre for Defense and Strategic Studies of the Australian Defense College which equips its students with the competency to operate at the strategic level.

The incoming NOLCOM commander also has a Masters Degree from Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia.

“As such, he is expected to make immense contributions in tackling issues that beset his Area of Responsibility in Northern Luzon that spans Bajo De Masinloc in the West, to the Balintang Channel in the North, to Philippine Rise in the East,” Arevalo added.