MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has promoted Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Jay Tarriela to rear admiral, elevating one of the government’s most visible voices on maritime tensions to flag officer rank.
In a letter dated Feb. 23, Executive Secretary Ralph Recto informed acting Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez of Tarriela’s appointment to rear admiral in the PCG.
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Also promoted to the same rank were Weniel Abarquez Azcuna and Oliver Sy Tanseco.
The Coast Guard is attached to the Department of Transportation. The letter directed the department to notify the appointees and furnish them with their appointment papers within seven days of receipt.
Tarriela has regularly briefed the media on maritime incidents and Coast Guard operations in the West Philippine Sea as spokesperson for the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea, becoming a key public face of Manila’s transparency campaign.
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Earlier, he drew Beijing’s ire for his disclosures and criticism of what Manila described as China’s “illegal” activities in the West Philippine Sea.
Tarriela, however, maintained there would be no “toning down” of the Philippines’ transparency campaign. /das
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