ADMIRAL RONNIE GIL LATORILLA GAVAN O-11309 PCG

Commandant, Philippine Coast Guard

ADMIRAL RONNIE GIL LATORILLA GAVAN PCG is a strategic, output-oriented, and people-person leader.

He is a graduate of the Philippine Military Academy ‘’Maalab’’ Class of 1993. Admiral Gavan is also a holder of Master of Maritime Studies by Research Degree focusing on Philippine Maritime Border Security and the Law of the Sea from the Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security, Faculty of Law, University of Wollongong, Australia, and also studied National Security at the National Defense College of the Philippines, as well as Leadership and Governance at Harvard University Kennedy School of Government, USA.

He authored the Organized National Engagement at Sea Concept or ONE at Sea Concept to help clarify the roles of the country’s military and law enforcement agencies along the spectrum of conflict. He promotes the crafting of Common Protocol on Engagements At-sea for Coast Guards and Maritime Law Enforcers or C-PEACE, to help shape peaceful and rules-based orientation among Coast Guards and enforcers in the ASEAN region. Likewise, he developed the Intensified Community assistance, Awareness, Response, and Enforcement (iCARE) to simplify the appreciation and individual commitment to the synergized implementation of the broad mandates and missions of the PCG.

His leadership was honed by his vast experience as Commander of various Coast Guard Districts and PCG major units and as Commanding Officer of PCG capital ships and BFAR vessels.

At the height of the COVID-19 Pandemic, Admiral Gavan led the very first PCG unit to assist arriving Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) and became the focal person and orchestrator of the PCG composite contingent to the Office of the President’s “Hatid Tulong Initiative” for the Locally Stranded Individuals (LSIs). He was also the first PCG Task Force Kalinga Commander who made the Task Force as the PCG’s platform for Public-Private Partnership on Humanitarian and Disaster Response Operations.

Admiral Gavan also led the PCG Task Force Pagsasanay where the deployment of female radio operators or “Angels of the Sea” aboard PCG vessels to serve as voices of peace and rules-based order at sea was realized.

As a testament of all his accomplishments and significant contributions to the country and the Filipino people, Admiral Gavan received numerous medals and awards to include Distinguished Service, the Philippine Military Academy Cavalier Awardee for Coast Guard Operations in 2020, and the PMA Outstanding Achievement Award for having been appointed as the PCG Commandant. He is the current Chairperson for the ReCAAP ISC Governing Council after being given another three years when he was re-elected in March 2025. He is also the Chairman of the ASEAN Coast Guard Forum.

The 30th Commandant of the Philippine Coast Guard is a son of Public-School teachers from the multicultural coastal town of Maitum, Saranggani Province. He speaks Ilonggo, Cebuano, and Ilocano, and draws strength from his wife, COMMODORE LYSAMYRA MARIE NONATO GAVAN PCG, the Chief Nurse, PCG, and their children Sandeon Mikhail and Simone Miguel.