MANILA — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Tuesday named Major General Stephen Parreño as the 39th commanding general of the Philippine Air Force.

Parreño served as vice commander of PAF before he rose to its helm and “was greatly involved in the Air Mobility efforts… during the Battle of Marawi” where he flew C130 flights between the Philippines, Guam and Arizona to transport logistics.

“I felt a great sense of confidence knowing that we have here a capable and dedicated team who will work towards our noble goals,” Parreño said during the change of command ceremony held at the Villamor Air Base.

“The measure of success is not by the promises we make but by how much we deliver to those who need us most,” he said.

Parreño said that under his leadership, the PAF “needs to be equally fast in adapting to modern requirements… without compromising excellence.”

“Excellence will be the standard and core values will be the anchor of our leadership,” he said.

“I will lead by example… We should carry out decisions in the most efficient way without wasting time and efforts,” he said.

Parreño vowed to become a “self-aware, balanced and transparent leader,” with “accountability, good governance and safety” as the hallmarks of his tenure as PAF commanding general.

“Let us continue to be open to changing mindsets… we will have to work hard and work together to achieve our common goals,” he said.

“Excellence, agility and commitment to always do right for God and country, these will be my guideposts to success,” said.

Parreño graduated as salutatorian of the Philippine Military Academy’s Sambisig Class of 1991.

He was the recipient of the “Chief of Staff Saber Award” and was the top 3 student of the Philippine Air Force Flying School Class of 1993.

He also completed the Curso de Estado Mayor (General Staff Course) in Madrid.

Marcos Jr. said he is confident that the PAF, under Parreño, would “sustain its ongoing initiatives and achieve new new heights in responsive service delivery for the country and for the people.”

“Let me also laud the efforts of the valiant men and women of the air force for guarding the Philippine aerial domain, for assisting the delivery of basic services to Filipinos in close collaboration with other gov’t agencies and even other private stakeholders,” the President said.

“Through your collective efforts we will attain our goal of creating a world-class air force that keeps the peace and contributes to our national development and regional security,” he said.

“Be assured that this administration remains committed to the modernization of the PAF and the entire AFP,” he added.

Parreño replaced outgoing commanding general Lt. General Connor Anthony Canlas, who the President thanked for his decades-long service.

“We also extend our gratitude to him for establishing a more dependable and capable air force that protects now our airspace,” Marcos said.

“During your tour of duty, the country saw a PH air force that is credible and responsive, made possible through intensive modernization efforts, improvement of our integrated air defense system, regular conduct of aerial intelligence and reconnaissance missions, conduct of humanitarian assistance and disaster response and the launching of flight plan 2040,” he said.