President Rodrigo Duterte has appointed Vice Admiral Artemio Abu of Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Class of 1992 as the 29th commandant of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) effective Monday.

Abu served as the head of the Maritime Safety Services Command and the Task Force Commander of the PCG Task Force Kaligtasan sa Karagatan — a unit that ensures the effective enforcement of laws and regulations relevant to the promotion of safety of life and property at sea within the Philippine maritime jurisdiction.

He is from Barangay Luta Sur, Malvar, Batangas, and a holder of a Master's Degree in Marine Management at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Abu served as commanding officer of various PCG ships where he earned the most coveted “Command at Sea" badge. All units that Abu commanded, both ashore and afloat, received the distinction as 'Best Unit of the Year' at the national level.

During the Taal Volcano eruption incident in 2020, Abu was designated as the head of the PCG Task Force Taal which propelled the Coast Guard as a uniformed, maritime, and humanitarian service of the country. DOTr