Alberto Bernardo Carlos (born December 1967) is a vice admiral in the

Philippine Navy The Philippine Navy (PN) () is the naval warfare service branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. It has an estimated strength of 24,500 active service personnel, including the 10,300-strong Philippine Marine Corps. It operates 91 combat ...

who headed the

Armed Forces of the Philippines The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) () are the military forces of the Philippines. It consists of three main service branches; the Philippine Army, Army, the Philippine Air Force, Air Force, and the Philippine Navy, Navy (including the P ...

– Western Command (AFP–WESCOM).

Education

Carlos graduated from the

Philippine Military Academy The Philippine Military Academy ( / ) also referred to by its acronym PMA is the premier military academy for Filipinos aspiring for a commission as a military officer of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). It was established on Decembe ...

in 1989 as part of the ''Makatao'' class. The PMA would send him to the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...

in 1989, obtaining a bachelor's degree in computer science with merit. He also attended China's Naval Command College in

Nanjing Nanjing or Nanking is the capital of Jiangsu, a province in East China. The city, which is located in the southwestern corner of the province, has 11 districts, an administrative area of , and a population of 9,423,400. Situated in the Yang ...

in 2008 as part of an intergovernmental program. He finished a general staff course.

Career

Carlos have headed the Philippine Fleet of the

and served as the

(AFP) Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics.

Western Command

Then-President

Rodrigo Duterte Rodrigo Roa Duterte (, ; born March 28, 1945) is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He is the first Philippine president from Mindanao, and is the oldest person to assum ...

appointed Carlos to head the

– Western Command on January 17, 2022. He officially assumed the position on January 24, when his predecessor Roberto Enriquez reached the mandatory retirement age of 56. The position deals with the Philippines' military engagements which involves it's sovereign claims in the South China Sea territorial dispute. He had been personally been on board in resupply mission by the Philippines for features they occupy in the

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by South China, in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan island, Taiwan and northwestern Philippines (mainly Luz ...

such as the mission for

Second Thomas Shoal Second Thomas Shoal, also known as Ayungin Shoal (), Bãi Cỏ Mây (Vietnamese) and Rén'ài Jiāo (), is a submerged reef in the Spratly Islands of the South China Sea, west of Palawan, Philippines. It is a disputed territory and claimed by m ...

in December 2023 and another in February 2024 where he sustained injury from water canons fired by

China Coast Guard The China Coast Guard (CCG) () is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the People's Armed Police (PAP) of China. The Coast Guard is an armed gendarmerie force (of corps grade), and its cutters are ...

ships. He was supposed to end his career in December 2023, after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 56 but was given a one-year extension. On November 20, 2024, he was succeeded by Major general of 19th Commander Westmincom Antonio Gustilo Nafarrete in an acting capacity upon the

retirement Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...

of Lt. General William Gonzales.

Supposed China 'new model' agreement and removal

On May 7, 2024, Alfonso Torres Jr. was appointed as acting commander of WESCOM after Carlos went on a leave. This is around the same period that China and its embassy in Manila claimed the Philippines agreed on a supposed "new model" agreement brokered by Carlos and an anonymous Chinese diplomat on dealing tensions in the

. On May 7 and 8 respectively, ''

Bloomberg Bloomberg may refer to: People * Daniel J. Bloomberg (1905–1984), audio engineer * Georgina Bloomberg (born 1983), professional equestrian * Michael Bloomberg (born 1942), American businessman and founder of Bloomberg L.P.; politician a ...

'' and the ''

Manila Times ''The Manila Times'' is the oldest extant English-language newspaper in the Philippines. It is published daily by The Manila Times Publishing Corp. (formerly La Vanguardia Publishing Corporation) with editorial and administrative offices at 2/F ...

'' published articles revolving around the deal based on an alleged transcript of the interaction which reportedly occurred in January 2024. Torres' role would be made permanent and Carlos' removal was officially characterized as motivated by an "administrative decision". No formal probe was conducted on him by the AFP out of respect on him being on leave. In a Senate inquiry, Carlos would admit to having a conversation but denied it was about such "new model" and insist he did not consent to the interaction being recorded. He said he was expecting a customary New Year's wishes with the Chinese military attache with the embassy whom he identified as "Colonel Li". Carlos said they did discuss reducing tensions in the South China Sea in general without committing to a new model or similar agreement as China is insinuating. On 18 May 2024, Carlos was eventually replaced by then-Rear Admiral Alfonso Torres Jr.

Personal life

Alberto has an older brother in the

Philippine National Police The Philippine National Police (PNP; ) is the national police force of the Philippines. Its national headquarters is located at Camp Crame in Bagong Lipunan ng Crame, Quezon City. Currently, it has approximately 228,000 personnel to police a pop ...

; Dionardo Carlos who served as

Police Chief A chief of police (COP) is the title given to an appointed official or an elected one in the chain of command of a police department, particularly in North America. A chief of police may also be known as a police chief or sometimes just a chief, ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carlos, Alberto Philippine Navy personnel 1967 births Living people United States Naval Academy alumni