18 July 2013 - Amid joyful shouts of Aloha and Mabuhay!, the BRP Ramon Alcaraz left Hawaii at around 10:30 a.m. on July 16 onwards her fourth port stop, Guam, before her final destination to the Philippines.
Consul Roberto T. Bernardo, Acting Head of Post of the Philippine Consulate General in Honolulu, and Colonel Restituto F. Padilla, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Liaison to the United States (US) Pacific Command (PACOM), led the Filipino community in Hawaii in formally sending off the BRP Alcaraz at ceremonies held in the morning of July 16 at the Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam (JBPHH) in Honolulu.
Prior to the departure ceremonies, a Eucharistic mass, concelebrated by Fr. Jon Brzek, Command Chaplain of the US Navy, and Fr. Edgar Brillantes of the Saints Peter and Paul Parish, was held to pray for the ship’s safe journey to Guam. A Filipino-style breakfast followed the Mass.
Commander Josh Price and Lieutenant Commander Andrew Tam of the US Pacific Fleet, Filipino-American officers of the US Navy, Consulate personnel and leaders of the Filipino community in Hawaii also attended the ceremonies to bid the Philippine Navy crew farewell.
Captain Ernesto Baldovino, the ship’s first commanding officer, presented a memento of appreciation to Consul Bernardo to express gratitude for the warm hospitality given by the Consulate and the Filipino community to the men and women of BRP Alcaraz.
For the formal departure ceremonies, Capt. Baldovino and his crew lined up to say goodbye and Mahalo (thank you) to the Filipino community. Filipino priest Fr. Brillantes, prayed over the ship and her crew and gave them his blessings. As the ship exited Pearl Harbor, the officers and crew of the BRP Ramon Alcaraz waved to the cheering crowd of well-wishers at the pier as the ship sails to its next destination.
The BRP Ramon Alcaraz is named after Filipino naval hero Commodore Ramon “Monching” Alcaraz, in recognition of his bravery during the Second World War by shooting down three Japanese Zero fighters who tried to attack his ship. END