Years of service 1979-2011 Service/branch Philippine Army Rank Lieutenant general | Name Arturo Ortiz Allegiance Philippines | |
Battles/wars Communist insurgency in the Philippines Awards Philippine Medal of Valor
Military Merit Medal
Distinguished Service Star | ||
Battles and wars CPP-NPA-NDF rebellion | ||
Arturo B. Ortiz (born November 13, 1955) is a Filipino Lieutenant general who was the Commanding General of the Philippine Army from 2010-2011. He is a recipient of the Philippine Medal of Valor (the Philippine equivalent of the Medal of Honor), a four-time recipient of Distinguished Service Star and Bronze Cross Medals. Also he is a recipient of 21 Military Merit Medals and three Gold Cross Medals.
Biography
Ortiz was born in Bautista, Pangasinan. He graduated in from the Philippine Military Academy in 1979. In 1980 and 1981 he served at Special Warfare Brigade where he took basic courses in Airborne and Special Forces. He also took basic Armor Officer and civil-military operations course at the Training Command, Philippine Army four years later. A year later, he took courses in Civil Affairs, Instructor training, and Officer Qualification Record for becoming a member of Special Forces. All of those courses were taken in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. For his heroic actions on April 6, 1990, in a raid against the Communist New People's Army in Negros Occidental, he was awarded the Philippine Medal of Valor by President Corazon Aquino. In 1987, 1993 and 2006 he took Close quarter battle course for becoming a jumpmaster and during the same years took scuba diving course, all of which were taken in Special Forces School. Later on, he took General Staff course at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas in 2000. He was the 12th commander of the Special Operations Command where he served from November 3, 2008 to July 23, 2010. He went on to serve as the 53rd Commanding General of the Philippine Army