Major General Vincent Blanco III, who spearheaded the long-overdue redeployment of a Marine brigade from the southern to the northern Philippines, has been appointed as the new commandant of the Philippine Marine Corps.
Blanco officially assumed the post in late June 2025, following the retirement of his predecessor Major General Arturo Rojas in May.
Before taking the helm of the Marines, Blanco served as deputy commandant. A member of the Philippine Military Academy Class of 1991, he brings extensive experience from various Marine and intelligence units.
His career also includes service as defense attaché to Myanmar and staff positions within a unified command and the Armed Forces’ general headquarters.
Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. informed Malacañang of Blanco’s ad interim appointment and his promotion to major general on June 27. His confirmation is pending before the Commission on Appointments when the 20th Congress resumes.
A native of Ilocos Norte, Blanco oversaw the relocation of the 4th Marine Brigade from Sulu to Burgos, Ilocos Norte—a key move as the unit now plays a central role in bolstering the country’s territorial defense in northern Luzon amid growing tensions in the Taiwan Strait.
“Territorial defense is supposedly our number one task. It so happened that for the past many decades, your Marines have been in the south, [focusing on] counter-insurgency, counter-terrorism. It’s like we forgot our number one task, which is territorial defense operations,” he said.
Blanco had just been promoted when he took command of the 4th Marine Brigade in Sulu, shortly before plans for their redeployment were finalized and implemented.
Since relocating to Camp Cape Bojeador in Burgos in late 2022, the Marines have steadily developed the sprawling area into a strategic military base.
