Porto is new 3ID chief
ROXAS CITY -- Brigadier General Vicente Porto is the new commanding general of the Philippine Army's (PA) 3rd Infantry Division (3rd ID) based at Camp Macario Peralta in Jamindan, Capiz.
B/Gen. Porto replaced outgoing B/Gen. Nestor Ochoa in a turn-over of command ceremony last January 16. Ochoa has been the Division commander since middle of 2008.
The new 3rd ID Commanding General is a former 1002nd Infantry Brigade (IB) Chief based in Sarangani province in Central Mindanao. He is a member of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Class of 1978 and confirmed to a grade of Brigadier General in February 2008 by the Commission on Appointments.
Meanwhile, the 3ID is gearing towards its 35th anniversary in May this year. The country's second largest camp started in early 1974 as a 3rd Military area to a 3rd IB until it became a full-pledged ID.
The Division transferred its headquarters from Camp Lapu-Lapu, Cebu City and temporarily established at Camp General Adriano D. Hernandez, Dingle, Iloilo in 1986. It moved to its permanent station at Camp Peralta on July 16, 1987.
The 3ID was established at Camp Peralta not only because for strategic purposes but also to act as overseer to protect the about 33,000 hectares of military reservation covering the tri-boundaries of Capiz, Iloilo and Aklan provinces. (PIA)