Bacolod City – Col. Michael Samson is set to assume as acting commander of the Army’s 303rd Infantry Brigade, effective today December 27.
Samson, the deputy commander of the 303rd Infantry Brigade, will replace Brig. Gen. Inocencio Pasaporte, who is retiring from the military service on Dec. 28, as he reaches the mandatory retirement age of 56.
Pasaporte and Samson are both members of the Philippine Military Academy Class of 1991.
Maj. Gen. Benedict Arevalo, 3rd Infantry Division commander and concurrent acting chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Visayas Command, disclosed that Samson will serve in an acting capacity, pending final approval of his new designation by Malacañang.
Samson is no stranger to this assignment in Negros, having served as deputy brigade commander of 303rd Infantry Brigade from 2019 up to this time. He also had been the commander of AFP Civil Relations Service in Negros Occidental in the late 1990s.
Pasaporte, who took over the position of Gen. Arevalo as 303rd Brigade Commander on December 2019 to December 2022, has received numerous awards, medals, and commendations, as well as made a difference in the peace and order in Negros island.
Aside from Pasaporte, Brig. Gen. Noel Baluyan, assistant division commander of 3rd Infantry Division, also retired from the military service on Dec. 14. His successor has however not yet been named, as of this time. (Gilbert Bayoran via The Visayan Daily Star (TVDS), photo courtesy of TVDS)
