Father and commander
The Marine chief recalls a dynamic life relentlessly upholding ‘honor, valor and duty’
Path of honor
Herico graduated from the Philippine Military Academy on March 12, 1988, reporting to the Philippine Marine Corps in January 1989. Six officers, including him, filled the quota for officers to join the Marines then.
In this pandemic, we can always take advantage of technology. We’ve pivoted to conducting virtual meetings where we can connect. I believe we are in good shape.”
Tight-knit family
He is the husband of Laarni L. Herico, whom he married in 1994 in San Agustin Church in Intramuros. They are the parents of pilot son Alton Karol, 26, and daughter Annika Josef, 24.
Free time
He enjoys sports immensely: basketball, golf, working out, motorcycling and scuba diving. With his daughter especially, they engage in jogging and running. Attending Sunday mass with them is a priority.
LEAVING behind one’s hometown in far-away Zamboanga City to fulfill a childhood dream to join the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) is no ordinary undertaking. No matter how brave, Maj. Gen. Nestor C. Herico, commandant of the Philippine Marine Corps, successfully fulfilled such ambition.
Amphibious specialist
Herico went to the PMA at the age of 17, after taking up civil engineering instead of pursuing PMA immediately when he graduated from high school. By tradition, new cadets enter Fort del Pilar, PMA every first day of April.
“It was the year 1984 when I did not experience Christmas and holiday season with my family,” Herico tells Boardroom Watch. “When I became a Marine officer, I took my first R&R (rest and recreation) after a year of deployment.”
Herico joined the Philippine Marine Corps immediately after graduation from the PMA on March 12, 1988. “Right after we finished our Naval Officers Qualification Course in December 1988, I reported to the headquarters of Philippine Marines in the first week of January 1989,” he says. “There were six of us who were newly graduates (2nd Lieutenants) from the Academy who completed the Naval Officers Qualification Course.”
They were six because that was only the quota for officers allowed to join the Philippine Marines at that time. In every four Navy Officers, one is for a marine officer. “In our class, a total of 25 joined the Navy out of 135 graduates,” Herico reveals. “Another classmate, who just graduated from the United States Military Academy, also joined us in the Marines.”
The Philippine Marine Corps is composed of 10,000 active members, who have committed their lives to serving our nation and the Filipino people with “honor, valor and duty.” According to him, Marines are spread from the northernmost Mavulis Island in Batanes to the southernmost Panguan Island in Sitangkai, Tawi-Tawi.
Herico was recently promoted to commandant in the Philippine Navy only last January 2022. “In Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, the fulfillment I do have right now is self-actualization,” Herico admits. “I am honored and grateful for reaching this peak to serve as the Commandant of the Philippine Marine Corps.”
Herico built his specialization in amphibious warfare, intelligence, plans and operations. “We have a lot of these in the Philippine Marine Corps,” Herico points out. “Amphibious warfare is our primary Field of Specialization (FOS), and we also have a secondary FOS. I specialize in the fields of intelligence, plans and operations. I have reached the pinnacle of being an Amphibious Warfare specialist as the commandant.
“I can also claim I’ve reached the pinnacle in the field of intelligence being at one time the Defense Armed Forces attaché to China, one of the top positions in intelligence FOS. I was also the assistant deputy chief of staff for intelligence, AJ2, the secondhighest designation in the intelligence FOS.
“Amphibious warfare FOS is the toughest among these specializations because it is the most complex military operation requiring careful and heavy planning and massive deployment of troops and assets. Only the Marines can do that. Intelligence would come as the second-toughest specialization.”
In this pandemic, the challenge is the inability to be with the troops physically. “However, we can always take advantage of technology,” Herico says. “We’ve pivoted to conducting virtual meetings where we can connect, hear their sentiments, know their needs and address them, although doing it face-to-face would have been the better way. Since we’ve adjusted how we do things, I believe we are in good shape.”
Herico was the commander of the 3rd Marine Brigade in Palawan when the Covid-19 pandemic ensued. “Even if we were surrounded by beautiful scenery, we did not let our guards down and fully relax,” he says. “As the operational commander, I made sure our enemy, the CTG-NPA (Communist Terrorist Group-New People’s Army), did not relax either.”
Committed support
When Herico was young, he heard about the PMA and aspired to become a PMA graduate. “That was my real childhood ambition,” he says. “But at that innocent age, I never expected that once you graduated from the PMA, you would become a soldier, a military officer. My ambition was not sidetracked at all. Thankfully, I was able to fulfill it.” Herico learned about the “Iron Lady,” Margaret Thatcher, who was the prime minister of the United Kingdom. Quite ironically, Thatcher became his role model as he became an adult.
“At a young age, I saw her as a firm leader who opposed Soviet communism and introduced a lot of reforms,” Herico recalls. “While having a rigid posture, she was also seen as a kind woman. I admire her for that. Though our fields are different, I can relate to her brand of leadership, firm and uncompromising, especially in dealing with challenging situations.”
When he was still a bachelor, Herico went home to Zamboanga City at least once a year. There was a time when he was assigned to Cotabato and couldn’t go home due to financial constraints.
“My mom bought me an airplane ticket just to see me and to play basketball for a Zamboanga team, since I was good at playing basketball,” Herico says. “When I got married, I only went home on special occasions such as the holiday season and fiesta of Zamboanga.
“After my assumption as the commandant, I visited my hometown on Feb. 26, 2022. The city government of Zamboanga, led by Mayor Beng Climaco, was gracious enough to recognize me for my service.”
While in the Marines, Herico had the privilege to study courses in the United States. He took the International Intelligence Fellows Program at the Defense Intelligence Agency in Washington, D.C. (District of Columbia) in 2019. “Months later, I was sent to take the Transnational Security Cooperation Course at Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Honolulu, Hawaii,” he says.
Meanwhile, being with his family — wife and children — is the best time to unwind for Herico. “My networks, friends and comrades-at-arms, are also the best to hang out with,” he says. “I am very much into sports and athletic activities. I love playing basketball. I play golf. I do basic regimen in keeping myself physically fit.
“I am an enthusiast bicycle rider; I love motorcycle riding. I used to do scuba diving, too. When I have bonding moments with my kids, especially with my daughter, we go jogging, running and do some physical exercises. As a family, we go glamping and other staycation activities.”
Although he works double-time as the commandant in accomplishing the PMC (Philippine Marine Corps) mission and planning for next activities, Herico finds time to attend mass with the family, his priority on Sundays.
The commandant is married to Laarni L. Herico or Arni for short. They tied the knot on Dec. 17, 1994 at the San Agustin Church in Intramuros, Manila. The couple is marking their 28th anniversary this year. They are blessed with two children, pilot-son Alton Karol, 26, and daughter Annika Josef, 24, who are both college graduates.
Happily, Herico gets the committed support from his immediate family in accomplishing his mandated tasks. “Were it not for them, I would not be able to reach this far. Just having them by my side is already a strong enough motivation to face the difficulties at work.
“My son and daughter are cool about my military profession. My son comforts me whenever I’m not in the right mood. With my wife, there never goes a day without her asking how my day was. She is my confidante, adviser and critic. She would also offer recommendations on how I could work best as the commandant.
“They always remind me to be good and do good wherever I am. They keep me grounded and make me whole as a father, not just to an organization but, more importantly, to them as my family.”