Major General Delfin C. Castro (Ret) was the Commander of the Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), Armed Forces of the Philippines from 1981 to 1986. Some notable incidents during his tenure were the Pata Island Massacre, the assassination of Zamboanga City Mayor Cesar Climaco, the rescue of kidnapped Bishop Escaler from Muslim rebels and the strafing of the Japanese vessel Hegg by air force fighters off Mindanao.