- GILBERT BAYORAN
Colonel Michael Samson yesterday assumed his post as acting commander of the Army’s 303rd Infantry Brigade, based in Camp Gerona, Brgy. Minoyan, Murcia.
Samson, who is the deputy commander of the 303rd Infantry Brigade, replaced Brig. Gen. Inocencio Pasaporte, who is retiring from the military service on Dec. 28, as he reaches the mandatory age retirement 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, said that Samson will serve in acting capacity, pending the final approval of his new designation by Malacañang.
Samson is no stranger to his assignment in Negros, as he served as deputy brigade commander of the 303rd IB from 2019 up to this time. He had been the commander of the AFP Civil Relations Service in Negros Occidental in the late 1990s.
Pasaporte, who took over the position of Arevalo as 303rd IB commander from December 2019 to December 2022, received numerous awards, medals, and commendations and made a difference in peace and order, particularly in Negros Island.
Aside from Pasaporte, Brig. Gen. Noel Baluyan, assistant division commander of the 3rd ID, retired on Dec. 14 from military service. But his successor has not been named yet, as of this time./GB
