Rodolfo Biazon

Rodolfo "Pong" Gaspar Biazon (, April 14, 1935 – June 12, 2023) was a Filipino politician and Philippine Marine Corps general.

Biazon was born on April 14, 1935, in Batac, Ilocos Norte.

His father Rufino Biazon, was a doughmaker then, while his mother Juliana Gaspar, was a clotheswasher.

His father died and left him along with his mother and three younger sisters when he was seven years old.

At a young age of eight, he and his sisters had already experienced hardship, especially during the Japanese regime.

Living in a makeshift shanty in Cavite, they had to peddle food, collected bottles and newspapers, which were later sold in order to earn a living for the family.

In spite of their condition, it did not stop him from obtaining his education.

Biazon enrolled as a Grade One student at the age of eleven in 1946.

In order to support his education, and at the same time look for ways to earn money, so he went to school in the morning and worked in the afternoon.

He would collect seashells in Manila Bay which were in turn sold at the market.

He studied at Jose Rizal Elementary School in Pasay (then in Rizal) for his primary education where he graduated salutatorian.

He continued working, washing clothes for other people in order to sustain his high school education at the Arellano University – Jose Abad Santos High School, also in Pasay, in 1955.

He also graduated from this school with honors.

He stopped doing laundry and instead worked as a laborer in the then Highway 54 (now EDSA), this time to sustain his college education in FEATI where he took mechanical engineering.

Biazon also attended other trainings or schooling which include the TOP Management Program at the Asian Institute of Management; Command and General Staff Course in Quantico, Virginia, United States; Crisis Program in California, United States; Allied Combat Intelligence Course in Okinawa, Japan; Senior Officer Maintenance Course in Kentucky, United States; Amphibious Warfare Course in Quantico, Virginia, United States and, Military Instructors in Norfolk, Virginia, United States.

Biazon entered the Philippine Military Academy in 1957, although he applied and passed for the US Navy.

He was the class goat of PMA Class 1961 yet this did not prevent him from achieving his goal.

Biazon was assigned in Davao in 1983 during the Marcos administration.

It was the time when the trust and confidence of the civilians in the military were returned as he took the initiative to do so.

During his tenure both as the Commanding General of the AFP NCR Defense Command and Commandant of the Philippine Marine Corps, he quelled an attempted coup by the Reform the Armed Forces Movement (RAM), led by Col. Gringo Honasan.

He led the Marines and the officers and men of the AFP NCR Defense Command in foiling the coup attempt.

As a Philippine Marine, he attained the following posts: Superintendent of PMA in 1986–87, Commandant of the Philippine Marines (PMC) in 1987–1989, Commanding General of the NCR Defense Command in 1988–1990, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Vice Chief of Staff in 1990-91 and Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff in 1991.

In early 1990, Viva Films began to plan a film based on Gen. Biazon's life, with Eddie Garcia cast as Biazon and Manuel "Fyke" Cinco to direct, though it did not come to fruition.

He was the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in early 1991 and then served as a Senator from 1992 to 1995 and from 1998 to 2010.

During his time in the military, he served as superintendent of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA), commandant of the Philippine Marine Corps, Vice Chief of Staff, and finally Chief of Staff of the AFP.

Gen. Biazon was chosen to be the third Armed Forces Chief of Staff of the 5th Republic, after Fidel V. Ramos and Renato de Villa, and the first one to come from the ranks of the PMC in 1991.

Prior to that, he served then also as the Vice Chief of Staff of the AFP under De Villa.

He is the first and only AFP Chief of Staff from the Philippine Marine Corps.

Biazon was convinced by Paul Aquino, the brother of the late Senator Benigno Aquino Jr., to run for office.

He ran for senator in 1992 under Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino.

He was successful, placing 20th to become a senator in the 9th Congress from 1992 to 1995.

In 1993, he engaged in a series of dialogues with squatters in Pasay about their resettlement to the province of Cavite.

He ran for re-election in 1995 under the Lakas–Laban Coalition, but lost, placing 14th.

After the loss, he ran again for Senator in 1998 under Laban ng Makabayang Masang Pilipino and won, resulting to a six-year term.

He was the Chairman of the Senate Committee on National Defense and Security and Committee on Urban Planning, Housing and Resettlement.

Aside from this, he held the following positions in the Senate: Vice-Chair of the Committees on Agriculture and Food and Foreign Relations, and a Member of 15 other Senate Committees.

He was also the President of the Asian Regional Council Global Parliamentarians on Habitat, the Vice-President for Asia Global Parliamentarians on Habitat, the Co-chairperson of the Philippine Legislators' Committee on Population and Development Foundation, Inc. (PLCPD) and a member of the Commission on Appointments.

Biazon ran for re-election under the K4 administration coalition in 2004 and won, narrowly beating incumbent Senator Robert Barbers by a margin of 10,685 votes for the 12th place.

Barbers filed an electoral protest but died within the year.

After his stints in the senate, he served as the Representative of Muntinlupa from 2010 to 2016.