Delfin Castro

Major General Delfin C. Castro (Ret) was the Commander of the Southern Command (SOUTHCOM),Armed Forces of the Philippines from 1981 to 1986. Some notable incidents during his tenure were the Pata Island Massacre, the assassination of Zamboanga City Mayor Cesar Climaco, the rescue of kidnapped Bishop Escaler from Muslim rebels and the strafing of the Japanese vessel Hegg by air force fighters off Mindanao.

Early life

Castro was born on July 30, 1925 in Norzagaray, Bulacan. He took his primary and secondary education in Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija.

Military career

He was among the first batch of post-World War II graduates of the Philippine Military Academy in 1951. The graduation date was advanced a month earlier to meet the requirement for platoon leaders very much needed because of the growing insurgency threat posed by the Communist Party of the Philippines and its military arm, the Hukbong Magpapalayang Bayan (HMB). His initial assignment was leader of Combat Intelligence Teams of the 7th Battalion Combat Team (BCT) under Col. Napoleon Valeriano. Castro experienced being assigned to the field as a platoon leader (during which he was wounded in action), as company executive officer, company commander and Battalion Intelligence officer during the anti-dissident campaign.