VADM ARTHUR N GOSINGAN PCG
Commandant, Philippine Coast Guard

VADM ADMIRAL ARTHUR N GOSINGAN PCG is the 19th Commandant of the Philippine Coast Guard appointed by Her Excellency President Gloria Macapagal - Arroyo on 03 November 2003. He is a full-blooded Igorot belonging to the proud Cancana-ey Tribe of Bontoc, Mt. Province.

He is one of the few Igorots who graduated from the Philippine Military Academy Class of 1975 and was the recipient of the Navy Sword Award by the Flag Officer in Command of the Philippine Navy for being at top of his class joining the Philippine Navy.

He joined the Philippine Navy after graduating from PMA and has gone through all the rigors of shipboard duties until he became a Captain or Commanding Officer of different ship categories of the Philippine Navy. The last one was as the Captain of the Presidential Ship during the time of President Fidel V Ramos. He has set the record of being awarded the Command at Sea Badge while still a young Lieutenant. The record is still not broken. He has commanded a total of seven (7) ships of the Philippine Navy (two of them Coast Guard ships). As a sea dog, he has accumulated a total of 12 years sea duty, seven years of which as Commanding Officer.

He has tasted combat duties in Mindanao while still a junior, executive officer and later on as captain of patrol ships. He has earned his Gold Cross Award and Military Merit Medals for gallantry in action during several gun battles against lawless elements in the waters of Davao, Zamboanga, Jolo and Tawi-Tawi.
His patrols as ship Captain in Mindanao had resulted to the sinking of five rebel/smuggler boats and killing of at least six rebel/smugglers. For said accomplishments, he was awarded the CAVALIER AWARD by the Philippine Military Academy Alumni Association Inc. (PMAAAI) in 1987 while still a Lieutenant in the Navy.
Because of his achievements as ship Captain, two of his ships (he was commanding then) were awarded the most coveted Kahusayan (“K” or Kilo) award by the Philippine Navy. Also, because of his achievements he was promoted ahead of his contemporaries in the Navy to the rank of Lt. Commander; jumping nine files above him in the lineal list.

For other awards, he has received three Distinguish Silver Star Medals, one Coast Guard Legion of Honor Degree of Maginoo, twenty Merit Medals and four Commendation Medals, one Gawad sa Kaunlaran and numerous Letters of Commendations.

Professionally, he has undergone training in Anti-Submarine Warfare, Naval Control of Shippings and Instructor Course in the United States. He has taken his General Command and Staff Course equivalent in Sydney, Australia. He has completed all other required courses as a Naval and Coast Guard Officer like Maritime Safety Management Course at Sweden, Maritime Safety Course in Japan, and Safety and Surveyor Course at Coast guard Training Command, Philippine Coast Guard.

For graduate studies, he has taken up Master in Development Management at the prestigious Asian Institute of Management (AIM), Makati City.

He has been assigned at the Naval Training Command as head of the Operations Department; then at Headquarters Philippine Navy as Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff for Personnel. He was also assigned at the Philippine Military Academy as Academy Logistics Officer and later on as Head Plans and Curriculum Development Office. He has a three-year stint at the Office of the President as Chief of Promotion and Special Concern Division and later on as Acting Deputy of the Office of the Presidential Assistant on Military Affairs (OPAMA) during the time of President Fidel V Ramos.

When he joined the Coast Guard, he has commanded two Coast Guard Districts. The first one was in Palawan where he apprehended more than 8 million worth of pebbles being shifted out of Palawan to Manila, 90 bags of ammonium nitrates and 100 kilos of cyanide tablets. He was also responsible for the arrest and detention of two Chinese fishing boats illegally entering and fishing in the waters of Palawan. He has been the Coast Guard District Commander of Batangas where he was responsible for the detention of more than 1.4 million bags of rice (worth about 1.4 billion pesos) with questionable papers of importation.

COMMODORE GOSINGAN is recently the Commander of the Coast Guard Operating Forces (CGOF). It was under his command that the Philippine Coast Guard fleet of commissioned vessels has increased into a formidable number of thirteen, nine of which are new construction. His air assets have also increased into five aircraft. It is also during his time that the K-9 unit has been operational through the acquisition of more operational dogs and the training of handlers. He has engineered also the training of more divers for the Special Operating Group such that they become indispensable during search and rescue operations on land and at sea.