Elmir S. Dela Cruz, Major General O-7872 AFP (Retired) BSIE ‘91
MGen. Dela Cruz was born in 1957 in Lipa City. He had two (2) years at the University of the Philippines taking up BS in Electrical Engineering before entering the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) in 1975 as a Cadet. He graduated from PMA in 1979 with honors and got his commission in the Philippine Army (PA) as a Second Lieutenant in the regular force on the same date.
His other civilian schooling includes a Diploma in Industrial Engineering from the University of the Philippines in 1991 and Masters in Management from the Philippine Christian University in Manila in 2000.
His military training and education in the active service included the Scout Ranger Course in 1981, the Communications-Electronics Officer Basic Course in 1982, the Brigade Communications-Electronics Staff Officer Course in 1985 taken at the United States Army Artillery School in Fort Sill USA, the Communications-Electronics Officer Advance Course in 1990, the Command and General Staff Course in 2000, and the United States Army Distance Education Course at the US Army War College where he was also conferred the Master of Strategic Studies in 2004.
His tour of duty in the active service started as an infantry platoon leader in the 34th Infantry Battalion deployed in Jolo Island in the province of Sulu in 1979. He then became an operations staff officer of the 2nd Infantry Brigade in Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija on re-training in 1981 until its deployment back to Jolo Island in 1982. His becoming a Signal officer in the Philippine Army started upon his completion of the PA Communications-Electronics Officer Basic Course in 1982. His training and leadership assignments from then on were related to electronics and telecommunications and much later on, in computers in the Armed Forces.
He assumed the position as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications, Electronics and Information Systems, J6 in 2010 and subsequently, was promoted to the rank of Major General in 2011. He held the position until his compulsory retirement from the AFP in 2013. His accomplishments as Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications, Electronics and Information Systems, J6 earned for him the Philippine Military Academy Alumni Association Cavalier Award for Staff functions in 2013.
Elmir was awarded the National Achievement Award for Military Service by the UP Alumni Engineers in 2014. He is married to Mona Lisa Trinidad Bautista, cum Laude (UP Stat ’78) and they are blessed with three (3) children – Isabel (Oblation Scholar and UPIE ‘06), Lorenzo (Oblation Scholar and UP Comm Res ’08), and Beatriz (Oblation Scholar and UP BAA ’12).