DINGDONG DANTES Promoted to LIEUTENANT COMMANDER in PH NAVY RESERVE

The competition between media networks and their stable of talents in the country has not only intensified these days but also evolved to include contests of prestige outside the industry itself. It has become prominent for instance, to have either a Kapamilya or a Kapuso star who is serving in the reserves of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) seemingly tying their reservist duties to the image of their networks. One example that has popped up recently is the case of GMA7 actor Dingdong Dantes. He joined the Navy reserve three years ago, and much like Manny Pacquiao in the Army reserve, Dingdong has warranted a great rank up.

The Philippine Star has it that Dingdong Dantes has been promoted by the Philippine Navy to the rank of lieutenant commander in the naval reserve command (NAVRESCOM) as of this past Monday, January 27. In terms of rank equivalency, he is now akin to a reservist army major in command responsibility. The good news was shared on social media by Dantes’ wife Marian Rivera via her Instagram page, which featured nice photos from her husband’s donning of ranks ceremony at the Philippine Navy Headquarters at Naval Station Jose Andrada, Manila.

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Lieutenant Commander Jose Sixto G. Dantes III PN (Res) . . Super proud of you my husband... Salute! ♥️

A post shared by Marian Rivera Gracia Dantes 🇵🇭 (@marianrivera) on Jan 26, 2020 at 9:07pm PST

On the caption, Marian gave a fun introduction to her newly-promoted naval reserve officer spouse, full name and rank “Lieutenant Commander Jose Sixto G. Dantes III PN (Res).” She punctuated this with praise adding, “Super proud of you my husband...Salute!” It is a particularly awesome moment for Dingdong, who quite recently was probably known in the Kapuso fandom for being the subject of memes that, granted, he himself found enjoyable. But Dantes has been a navy reservist since 2017, and this promotion to lieutenant commander is a positive word from the navy leadership in his abilities even in the reserve.

In any case, it looks like Dingdong Dantes will be able to mine his military reserve experience for his acting job. GMA7 is looking to remake South Korean K-drama “Descendants of the Sun” with Dingdong as part of the cast. He will be playing a military officer there as in the original Korean series story.

Other famous celebrities with military certification or reserve status include Kapamilya star Matteo Guidicelli as an Army Reserve 2^nd Lieutenant with Scout Ranger qualification, and of course boxer-politician Sen. Manny Pacquiao, an Army Reserve Colonel.

Image courtesy of GMA News