PCG's first female pilot promoted to commodore
The first female pilot of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has been promoted to the rank of commodore by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Commodore Christine Pauline Bergaño-Diciano's promotion was approved on Wednesday after Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon made the recommendation, the PCG said Saturday.
She became PCG's first female pilot in 2005 and had her first flight the following year.
According to PCG, Bergaño-Diciano led several aerial missions to transport medical supplies to far-flung communities amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2010, Bergaño-Diciano became the first and only female PCG Air Station commander under the West Philippine Sea Oplan Matatag.
She was also the first Asian vice president of the World Maritime University's Women's Association in Malmö, Sweden in 2014.
Bergaño-Diciano was appointed as Coast Guard Aviation Force commander in 2022. During this period, she also advocated for female rescue swimmers and drivers.
In the same year, Bergaño-Diciano, who is leading the PCG's Gender and Development unit, pushed for the inclusion of 'hijab' into female Muslim Coast Guard personnel's uniform.
PCG noted that this effort earned recognition from the United Nations Human Rights Council.
Bergaño-Diciano, a one-star Coast Guard officer, also served in several units, including the Coast Guard Education, Training and Doctrine Command, Deputy Chief of Coast Guard Staff for Human Resource Management, Coast Guard Flag Office, Coast Guard Internal Audit, Coast Guard Procurement, and Coast Guard Logistics Systems Command.
She also became the acting superintendent of the Coast Guard School for Special Maritime Affairs and the director of the Leadership and Doctrine Development Center (LDDC).
At this year's Women's Month celebration, Bergaño-Diciano obtained the 'Pilak Award' for Natatanging Juana ng Tanod Baybayin ng Pilipinas for her Coast Guard service.
'Whatever you are working on – may it be in tactical and operational works and strategic ingenuities, be perpetual learners. Success, after all, is being grateful for our meaningful journeys and our happy and contented disposition on the lifework, we honor daily. Life's journey requires introspect and self-transcendence,' Bergaño-Diciano.
'There is no service so small. So, in all chances, choices and changes, own it. Practice mindfulness and embrace impermanence. Cultivate passion and compassion. Rediscover yourselves and grow from it. It is in the heart, kindness, grace, inspiration, love and all our faculties that we can support each other,' she added. —Mariel Celine Serquiña/KG, GMA Integrated News
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