40 Facts About Delfin Lorenzana

Delfin Lorenzana previously served as Secretary of National Defense in the Cabinet of President Rodrigo Duterte from 2016 to 2022.

Delfin Lorenzana served in the Philippine Army from 1973 to 2004.

Delfin Lorenzana obtained a master's degree in Business Administration, Major in Operations Research from the Ateneo Graduate School of Business; a Graduate Diploma in Strategic Studies from the Australian National University in Canberra, Australia; and a Certificate in Business Economics from the University of Asia and the Pacific.

Delfin Lorenzana completed various courses in the Philippines and abroad, which include Senior International Leaders Course at John F Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University; Crisis Management Course at the US State Department, Washington DC; and VIP Security Operations conducted by British Special Air Service Regiment.

Delfin Lorenzana acted as staff officer of Army units up to Battalion level, and served as instructor at the Scout Ranger School and the Army Training Command.

Delfin Lorenzana helped reorganize the Army Intelligence Unit after the EDSA Revolution.

Delfin Lorenzana developed operational and training plans for PSG units and personnel, and for the development of security plans for Malacanang Palace, then President Corazon Aquino, her family and other VIPs.

Delfin Lorenzana assisted the Presidential Assistant for Military Affairs by ensuring that communications from GHQ to the Palace and vice versa were properly handled, quickly transmitted, monitored and returned.

Delfin Lorenzana gained national prominence after successfully defending Malacanang against rebel soldiers who attempted to overrun the palace in November to December 1989, by making sure that PSG troops were in constant readiness.

Delfin Lorenzana was responsible for monitoring the operations of all Armed Forces units and commands all over the country.

Delfin Lorenzana delivered daily summary and brief for the AFP Chief of Staff, and prepared staff studies on national security situation.

Delfin Lorenzana monitored and ensured that major AFP assets such as ships, aircraft, guns and special units are in readiness at all times.

Delfin Lorenzana concurrently served as Commander of the AFP Rapid Deployment Force Battalion, where he led the RDF Battalion in successful operations against the Communist Party of the Philippines - New People's Army insurgents in Camarines Sur and Southern Leyte.

Delfin Lorenzana successfully supervised and managed security operations in the area.

When Tahir Alonto's men attacked the General Santos Police prison in November 2000 to free their leader, Delfin Lorenzana's men succeeded in recovering more than 50 escapees.

Delfin Lorenzana's forces secured former President Estrada while he was detained at the Veterans Medical Memorial Center and prevented pro-Erap forces from barging in the compound to free him.

Delfin Lorenzana was responsible for organizing, equipping, training and deploying Special Operations Command forces all over the Philippines.

Delfin Lorenzana coordinated closely with Philippine-based Filipino veterans on the lobby effort.

Notably, Delfin Lorenzana lobbied for the Parole Program for children of Filipino WW2 veterans to join their parents in the United States.

Delfin Lorenzana's last posting as a military officer was as defense attache at the Philippine Embassy in Washington DC, US, where he retired in 2004 with the rank of major general.

Delfin Lorenzana monitored and supported the Armed Forces of the Philippines personnel on schooling in the United States.

Delfin Lorenzana then offered Lorenzana to become ambassador to the United States.

On March 25,2020, Secretary Delfin Lorenzana has been designated by President Duterte to lead the National Task Force created by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases to fight COVID-19.

In May 2019, Secretary Delfin Lorenzana was again designated as the Cabinet Officer for Regional Development and Security for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Delfin Lorenzana actively promotes regional cooperation among ASEAN countries to strengthen resilience and sustain economic growth amidst the presence of hazards.

Delfin Lorenzana personally joins pre-and post-disaster assessment inspections and briefings like what he did during Typhoon Haima or Super Typhoon Lawin, Battle of Marawi, Pampanga and Mindanao Earthquakes, 2020 Taal Volcano Eruption, and other disasters.

Delfin Lorenzana likewise facilitated the inauguration of the Disaster Emergency Logistics System for ASEAN Philippines satellite warehouse.

Delfin Lorenzana's leadership was instrumental in the approval of this monumental welfare legislation for veterans that was strongly supported by the President.

On September 8,2020, Delfin Lorenzana confirmed to the House of Representatives that he signed a contract allowing Dito Telecommunity to install cell towers inside Filipino military camps despite multiple security concerns.

Delfin Lorenzana confirmed that the Presidential Security Group have already been vaccinated, though he himself was not.

Delfin Lorenzana later confirmed that the vaccines were donated and smuggled, and that the PSG "violated FDA rules".

Delfin Lorenzana then told the FDA to "expedite its approval of COVID-19 vaccines so that legitimate importers could start importing".

Delfin Lorenzana assured that the rest of the armed forces will wait for an FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccine.

Delfin Lorenzana called the agreement "obsolete", and reasoned that its abrogation was necessary since the New People's Army have "embedded themselves inside UP and are recruiting university students".

Delfin Lorenzana insisted that UP has become "a safe haven for enemies of the State", and that the university administration failed to prevent its students from joining the communists.

Nonetheless, on January 21, Delfin Lorenzana announced the unilateral abrogation of a similar pact between the DND and the Polytechnic University of the Philippines that was signed in 1990.

On October 7,2024, Delfin Lorenzana filed his candidacy to run in the 2025 Philippine Senate election as an independent candidate.

Delfin Lorenzana was born on October 28,1948, in Midsayap, Cotabato, to poor Ilocano parents, Teodoro Delfin Lorenzana, who is a corn, rice and coconut farmer and Juanita Negrillo, both hailing from San Quintin, Pangasinan but traces their roots from Ilocos Sur and La Union.

Delfin Lorenzana was raised in Parang, Cotabato where he attended elementary and high school.

Delfin Lorenzana attended Notre Dame University in Cotabato City for two years before entering Philippine Military Academy.