Cordura assumes top Philippine Air Force post

Lieutenant General Arthur Cordura formally assumed the leadership of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) in the change of command ceremony presided over by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at the Air Force headquarters in Villamor Air Base in Pasay City.

Cordura, formerly the Armed Forces vice chief of staff, replaced Lieutenant General Stephen Parreño.

“Today, the PAF is on the precipice of achieving something really great. Opportunities simply present itself with the government leadership who shares the urgency of the AFP [Armed Forces of the Philippines] Modernization Program and the dire need to be Territorial Defense ready,” Cardura said in his speech.

“Nonetheless, we all fairly understand, that this is the time that we need not only capitalize on the opportunities that our bureaucracy presents, but more importantly, for the PAF to consciously seek to create opportunities for its development as well,” he said.

On Wednesday, Marcos named Cordura as the new PAF commanding general after approving his the recommendation of the Department of National Defense.

Also in his speech, Cordura said he would not “reinvent” the PAF but intends to “tinker on the possibility to enculturate a developmental strategy characterized by simplicity but robust in content and arguably sustainable, inclusive in scope, and one that does not depart from the present metrics by which we effectively measure organizational success.”

“In this respect, under my term, I intend to pursue a Command Thrust that focuses on the Mission Essential Tasks and clearly defines the imperatives for a successful implementation of an Integrated Air Defense System (IADS). A Command thrust captured in the catch phrase ‘Focus PAF’,” he said.

Born in San Fernando, Pampanga, Cordura is the 40th commanding general of PAF. He is a member of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) “Bigkis-Lahi” Class of 1990, graduating cum laude and belongs to the Top 10 of his PMA class.

Cordura is also a member of the PAF Flying School Class of 1992 and finished his studies as top 3 among 65 student pilots. He joined 15th Strike Wing and attained all levels of flight qualifications from Combat Crew Training Pilot, Element Lead Training Pilot, and Instructor Pilot of the MD-520 Military Gunship. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News