By: HOLY ROSARY SEMINARY ALUMNI FOUNDATION, INC.

Brigadier General Jesus V. Lomeda, Jr., AFP (Ret.)

Soldier, Cybersecurity Pioneer, and Advocate for National Resilience

A Life of Courage, Discipline, and Service

Brigadier General Jesus V. Lomeda, Jr., AFP (Ret.) has lived a life shaped by courage under fire, disciplined service in the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and a continuing commitment to protect the Filipino people in an age when national security increasingly depends upon information, technology, and public resilience. A soldier, military leader, information-systems specialist, cybersecurity practitioner, author, and public educator, he has brought to every stage of his work the qualities that define a life of service: steadfastness in adversity, professional competence, intellectual curiosity, and an enduring concern for the common good.

His career has carried him from the demanding realities of field service to the highly technical frontiers of cyber defense. In both settings, he has understood security not as an abstract exercise of power but as a duty to safeguard lives, institutions, public trust, and the future of the nation. His story shows how faith, courage, responsibility, and resourceful intelligence can find expression in military leadership, public service, technological innovation, and the patient work of educating others.

Sorsogon Roots and Holy Rosary Seminary Formation

Born on 17 June 1956 in Sorsogon, General Lomeda is a son of the Bicol region, formed by family, community, faith, and the discipline of Catholic education. He completed his secondary education at Holy Rosary Minor Seminary as a member of the Class of 1973, graduating on 14 April 1973. The Seminary became a decisive setting for the formation of the habits of study, reflection, fraternity, and moral responsibility that would guide his later life in the service of country.

At Holy Rosary Minor Seminary, General Lomeda developed the companionship and intellectual discipline that remained with him throughout his military and professional career. The Seminary formed in him a respect for duty, learning, truthfulness, service, and concern for the welfare of others. Though his life vocation led him to the military and later to the emerging field of cybersecurity rather than to ordained ministry, the values of Holy Rosary Seminary remained visible in his lifelong commitment to responsibility, integrity, and national service.

Military Formation and the Call to National Service

After his Seminary formation, General Lomeda entered the Philippine Military Academy and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree as a member of PMA Class 1980. Commissioned in 1980, he embarked upon a military career that required professional discipline, physical courage, technical expertise, and a readiness to serve in difficult circumstances. He later pursued advanced studies and professional training in information management, network systems and security, operations research and systems analysis, and strategic communication.

His formal preparation included a Master of Science in Information Management from Ateneo de Manila University; studies at the Armed Forces of the Philippines Command and General Staff College; the Network System and Security Professional Course at the University of British Columbia in Canada; the Operations Research and System Analysis Course at Fort Lee, Virginia; and the Strategic Communication Course in Australia. This sustained preparation enabled him to unite the traditional demands of military leadership with the emerging requirements of information systems, cyber defense, and strategic communication.

Courage in the Face of Conflict

Among the defining experiences of General Lomeda’s early military life was his survival of the 1981 Pata Island tragedy in Sulu, in which many of his comrades were lost. The experience impressed upon him the human cost of conflict and the solemn responsibility carried by those entrusted with the defense of the nation. For gallantry, he received the Gold Cross, a recognition that stands alongside other distinctions conferred upon him during his military career.

His record of service also includes the Distinguished Service Star, the Outstanding Achievement Medal, the Military Merit Medal with Service Award Letter, and the Wounded Personnel Medal. These recognitions are not merely marks of professional distinction; they are reminders of a military life spent in places where courage, sacrifice, and fidelity to mission were daily demands.

Leadership in Information Systems and Cyber Defense

As his military career developed, General Lomeda moved from operational service into the strategic field of communications, electronics, information systems, and cyber defense. His senior assignments included service as Army Internal Auditor; Assistant Chief of Staff for Communications, Electronics, and Information Systems, G6, Philippine Army; Chief of Staff of the Training and Doctrine Command; and Chief of the Army Management Information Center. These posts placed him at the intersection of military planning, organizational management, technological development, and national security.

His promotion to brigadier general in 2011 recognized a career marked by institutional leadership and professional expertise. He retired from active military service in 2012, yet his service to national defense continued in civilian and public-sector roles. He served as Director of the Management Information Systems Service of the Department of National Defense, contributing to the development of the Department’s information and communications technology systems and cyber-defense capacity.

Regional Cooperation and Cybersecurity Advocacy

General Lomeda’s contribution to cybersecurity extended beyond national institutions. He served as Co-Chair of the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus Experts’ Working Group on Cybersecurity, advancing dialogue, cooperation, and practical measures among regional partners confronting the growing risks posed by cyber threats. This role reflected his understanding that cybersecurity requires cooperation, trust, readiness, and the sharing of expertise across borders.

In professional conferences, policy discussions, training programs, and public forums, he has consistently emphasized the importance of cyber resilience, information protection, and the responsible use of technology. His participation in regional and national conversations on cyber defense has helped make the subject intelligible not only to military and technical professionals but also to institutions, leaders, and citizens who must understand the social consequences of digital vulnerability.

Professional Leadership Beyond Active Service

After retirement from the Armed Forces, General Lomeda continued to place his technical knowledge at the service of the country. He served as Vice President for Cybersecurity of 5GS and as Chairman of Kerberus Corporation, a cybersecurity company. Through these roles, he demonstrated that national resilience requires sustained collaboration among government, industry, academic institutions, and the wider community.

His professional life reflects a rare capacity to move between military command, public service, technological innovation, and private-sector leadership without losing sight of the ethical responsibilities that accompany expertise. His work consistently affirms that technology must serve human dignity, institutional integrity, public safety, and national development.

Author, Lecturer, and Keeper of Memory

General Lomeda has made writing and public education an important dimension of his service. He has written on cybersecurity, emerging technological risks, leadership, and the lessons of military experience. As the author of A Time to Heal: Bloodbath at Pata Island, Sulu, he has contributed to the preservation of memory concerning a painful chapter in Philippine military history. The work gives witness not only to the realities of conflict but also to the need for historical honesty, compassion for those who suffered, and a continuing commitment to healing.

Through lectures, panel discussions, professional conferences, and published essays, he has shared knowledge with military personnel, government institutions, cybersecurity practitioners, and younger professionals. His public engagement underscores a principle that has guided his life: experience becomes most valuable when it is passed on responsibly, so that others may prepare more wisely, serve more faithfully, and avoid repeating the errors of the past.

Worthiness for the JOSÉ MA. PANGANIBAN AWARD

For his long and honorable service to the Philippines as a military officer and brigadier general; for his courage in adversity; for his leadership in military information systems, national cyber defense, and regional cybersecurity cooperation; for his continuing work as a technical professional, author, lecturer, and public educator; and for the manner in which he has carried the formative values of Holy Rosary Seminary into the service of the nation, Brigadier General Jesus V. Lomeda, Jr., AFP (Ret.) is eminently worthy of the JOSÉ MA. PANGANIBAN AWARD.

His life demonstrates that the ideals of Holy Rosary Seminary can find distinguished expression in fields far beyond the Seminary grounds: in service to country, fidelity to truth, disciplined intelligence, moral courage, and concern for the common good. Like José María Panganiban, whose name the award honors, he has placed his talents at the service of the Filipino people. His example invites the younger generation to unite professional excellence with conscience, technological knowledge with responsibility, and personal achievement with generous service to the nation.