Vicente Piccio, Jr.

Vicente Mondéjar Piccio (March 1, 1927–April 28, 2015) was a Philippine Air Force major general.

Career Piccio entered the Philippine Air Force Flying School in 1949 and graduated in 1951. Commissioned as second lieutenant in the reserve force, he was assigned as flight commander and instructor at Fernando Air Base in Lipa. On May 2 of the same year he was promoted to major general.

People Power Revolution Piccio was noted as having been the commander of the Philippine Air Force during the 1986 People Power Revolution. During the revolution, he lost effective control over the air force after the defection of a number of elite helicopter pilots, led by Col. Antonio Sotelo, from the 15th Strike Wing. These pilots, in turn, provided air cover for the rebel forces under Defense Minister Juan Ponce-Enrile and Philippine Constabulary Chief Lt. Gen. Fidel V. Ramos

The loss of the elite air-force pilots, analysts and historians say, was key to the eventual success of the four-day civilian-backed nonviolent revolution that toppled the Marcos administration. For his loyalty to the formal chain of command under Chief of Staff Fabián Ver, Piccio was branded as a "stooge". He grew up in Maasin, another Karay-a town.