A UST MEDICINE alumna made history after being appointed as the first-ever female surgeon general of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
Col. Fatima Claire Navarro formally took over as the 56th surgeon general of the military in a ceremony held on June 30.
Her assignment was recommended by AFP chief Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana and approved on June 28 by President Rodrigo Duterte.
Navarro replaced Col. Nelson Pecache, who retired after serving in the military for 30 years.
“I dream of an AFP health service that the soldiers can rely on, and that the Filipino people can continue to count on. An AFP health service that will save lives, heal wounds and continuously give hope,” Navarro was quoted as saying on the AFP website.
Navarro obtained her medical degree from UST in 1992, after which she took her postgraduate medical internship at the AFP Medical Center until 1993.
As surgeon general, Navarro will lead the AFP’s vaccination efforts and operations against Covid-19 and supervise the medical treatment facilities and services of the military.
She will also serve as the special medical adviser of Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and Sobejana.
“With her outstanding track record in medical research and studies, I am confident that Colonel Navarro will continue to elevate the AFP’s ongoing efforts to ensure the safety of our members and our citizens against the threats of the Covid-19 pandemic,” Sobejana said.
During the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, Navarro, who was the former chief of the Victoriano Luna Medical Center, led the expansion and comprehensive Covid-19 services of the hospital, making it a Covid referral hospital for AFP personnel and their families.
She was also deputy commander of the AFP Regional Task Force-National Capital Region Comprehensive and Responsive Elements, which provides support to the National Task Force against Covid-19.
In 1997, the UST Medical Alumni Association awarded Navarro the Young Researcher’s Award. She was a first-prize recipient in an inter-hospital research contest held by the Philippine Medical Association in the same year.
The Philippine Association of Military Surgeons (PAMS) awarded her the Most Outstanding Resident for Research in 1998.
In 2016, Navarro was given the PAMS Award for Excellence.
