Fortunato Abat

Fortunato "Tony" U. Abat (born June 10, 1925 in San Juan , La Union ; † March 7, 2018 in Manila ) was a Filipino major general , diplomat and politician who, between 1976 and 1981, was the commanding general of the Army of the Armed Forces of the Philippines , was Ambassador to the People's Republic of China from 1982 to 1986 and Minister of Defense between 1997 and 1998.

Life

Abat attended Singalong Elementary School in Manila between 1932 and 1939 and then from 1939 to 1941 the Araullo High School . After the Japanese occupation of the Philippines in 1941, he had to break off his school education and entered the army as a volunteer on April 15, 1944 during the Second World War to take part in the reconquest of the Philippines . After the war he continued his education at La Union High School and graduated in 1947. He then began officer training at the Philippine Military Academy in Baguio City , which he finished in 1951. During the Korean War , he was a member of the PEFTOK (Philippine Expeditionary Forces to Korea) contingent there . After various other uses, such as the fighting against the Hukbalahap , he was Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations and Training of the 1st Infantry Division , the so-called "Tobacco Division" and military attaché at the Embassy in Cambodia . He was also a member of the delegation to the Intelligence Evaluation Committee of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO).

After he was the commander of the 3rd Independent Infantry Brigade (3rd Infantry Brigade (Separate)) , Brigadier General Abat succeeded Brigadier General Emilio Alcoseba as commander of the 3rd Infantry Division (3rd Infantry Division) on January 16, 1972 and remained at this post until 26th January 1972 November 1975, whereupon Brigadier General Vicente Evidente became his successor. He then became Commanding General of Central Mindanao Command (CEMCOM). During this time, which was marked by the height of the rebellion of the National Liberation Front of the Moros MNLF (Moro National Liberation Front) , he became known nationwide. The MNLF had captured understaffed and isolated positions of the armed forces in the 1970s and took control of areas that are now in the provinces of Maguindanao , Sultan Kudarat , North Cotabato and South Cotabato .

On March 28, 1976, Major General Abat succeeded Major General Rafael Zagala as Commanding General of the Philippine Army , the land forces of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, after a brief assignment as Deputy Commander of the Army . He remained in this post until March 27, 1981, when he was replaced by Major General Josephus Ramas . He then retired from active military service and initially worked for the Minister of Human Settlements , Imelda Marcos , and then in May 1981 Ambassador to the People's Republic of China , where he remained until April 1986.

After the EDSA revolution , after his return during the term of office of President Corazon Aquino , Abat first became director of the PVAO (Philippine Veterans Affairs Office) and then undersecretary in the Ministry of National Defense. As such, he was Deputy Defense Ministers Rafael Ileto and Fidel Ramos between 1986 and 1988 and subsequently Deputy Director General of the National Security Council (National Security Council) , of which Ileto was Chairman. He was also temporarily Chairman of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines Peace Panel ( GRPPP ) , which negotiated with military rebel and other secessionist groups such as the Islamic Liberation Front of the Moros MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front) in Mindanao . The major achievements of the panel during his tenure included the 1995 peace agreement with the military rebels and the ceasefire agreement signed on July 18, 1997, which ended hostilities between the government and the MILF forces.

On 16 September 1997 Abat was to succeed Renato de Villa Defense (Secretary of National Defense) in the administration of President Fidel Ramos , whom he knew since the Korean War. He served as Minister of Defense until the end of President Ramos' term on June 30, 1998.

Abat died on March 7, 2018 at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center in Manila.

Web links

• FORTUNATO & ABAT. 20th Secretary of National Defense
• FORTUNATO & ABAT MAJOR GENERAL
• Gene. Abat: World War II hero, Korean war veteran, Mindanao fighter, ambassador, peace negotiator (obituary of March 8, 2018)
• Entry in rulers.org

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Lineage of 3ID Commander
2. ↑ LINEAGE OF THE PHILIPPINE ARMY COMMANDING GENERALS 1964-1991
3. ^ Department of National Defense: Former Secretaries