List of Bios:
 |
Armando
Quizon Madamba Retired Vice Admiral and Ambassador |
Armando first saw light in San Juan, San Fernando, Pampanga, Philippines on November 3, 1938 as the first child of five children of the spouses, Venancio V. Madamba, an accounting and financial administration executive and the former Feliza Quizon, a dedicated public school teacher.
Admiral Madamba with wife Alma and daughters Michelle and Pamela
Armando or Budge as he is called by his friends and relatives,
attended San Juan Elementary School where his mom was also a teacher.
Budge who belonged to the cream of his class, graduated with more than
three hundred students at Pampanga High School in the capital town of
Pampanga on April 2, 1954.
Aspiring to be a successful engineer, he was accepted and enrolled at
the University of the Philippines in Dilliman, Quezon City, Philippines.
In his third year of engineering studies at the state university, he decided
to change his professional career path by requesting a nomination for
admission to the Philippine Military Academy from Senate President Gil
J. Puyat. He then took the competitive examination conducted by the Philippine
Military Academy and garnered one of the highest scores among those who
took the examination aiming for the few "at-large slots" reserved exclusively
for high national government officials.
At the military academy in Baguio City, Budge was active in sports and
other extra-curricular activities. His intellectual brilliance and literary
aptitude catapulted him to the editor-in-chief position of the academy's
premiere magazine, "The Corps Magazine". His exceptional ability in planning
and military strategy became very prominent in his four-year stay at the
exclusive military academy.
Graduating from the military academy in 1962, Budge was among the few
PMA graduates who were commissioned as new ensigns of the Philippine Navy.
He quickly took up naval training and executed his duties effectively,
which caught the attention and praises of his military superiors.
As he was being assigned to increasing responsibilities in the Philippine
Navy, he was sponsored to take up graduate studies at Fletcher School
of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts where
he earned his Master of Arts in International Affairs in 1970 and Master
of Arts in Law and Diplomacy in 1971.
Gifted with exceptional tact and diplomacy, Budge was assigned as Attaché (Political Affairs) at the Philippine Embassy in Tehran, Iran from 1975
to 1980.
To further his studies, he also attended the Naval command College course
for Senior International Officers at the US Naval War College in Newport,
Rhode Island in 1987 to 1988 where he was elected president of his class.
Budge's last military assignment was at the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the
Armed Forces of the Philippines as the Deputy Chief of Staff, the third
highest ranking officer in the AFP. He initiated and integrated the modernization
plans and strategies of the AFP for the new century.
After Budges' compulsory retirement from the military service at the age
of 56 as vice admiral (equivalent to a three-star general), President
Fidel V. Ramos appointed him as Philippine Ambassador to the Asian Pacific
Economic Cooperation and served as executive director of APEC's Secretariat
in Singapore in 1996.
Budge is now a high-priced management crisis consultant specializing in
development economics, comparative politics, international organizations
and legal systems. To help his beloved province recuperate from the disastrous
effect of the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in 1991 and speed up the economic
recovery, he accepted at least one of the government positions offered
by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to sit on the Board of Clark Development
Corporation under the chairmanship of another Kapampangan, former Secretary
of Trade and Industry Rizalino T. Navarro.
A be-medalled military officer, Budge was awarded the Distinguished Conduct
Star, the Distinguished Service Star (6), the Philippine Legion of Honor
(2), Outstanding Achievement Medal, Military Merit Medal (6), Military
Commendation Medal (3), Navy Distinguished Cross and the 1991 Cavalier
Award of the Philippine Military Academy.
In recognition of Budge's long unblemished military career, the Provincial
Government of Pampanga conferred on him the "Most Outstanding Kapampangan
Award" in 1993.
Budge enjoys golf and writing during his spare time. He is happily married
to a beauty queen, the former Alma Lloren of Baguio City. Their marriage
is blessed with two beautiful daughters, Michelle and Pamela who both
graduated from prestigious universities and work as executives of international
firms in an Asian country.
(Andro S. Camiling - 03/29/01)