Lcol Fransel

LCol Francel Margareth Padilla-Taborlupa is the Commander of the 7th Signal Battalion in the Philippine Army, and a highly accomplished cybersecurity leader. She is a C4S Officer with 27 years of experience in technology and security, and has served as an International Lecturer, Moderator, and Panelist.According to a LinkedIn post by CyberSecAsia.Org, LCol Padilla-Taborlupa was nominated for the "Cybersecurity Woman of the Year" honors in 2023. She is a graduate of the Philippine Military Academy and has led her troops in the Northern Luzon area as the 7th Signal Battalion Commander.LCol Padilla-Taborlupa is also the first woman spokesperson for the Armed Forces of the Philippines and is concurrently the Group Commander of the Media and Civil Affairs Group of the Civil Relations Service of the AFP. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she served as the Information System Officer of the National Task Force Against COVID-19.LCol Padilla-Taborlupa is a certified ethical hacker and has conducted lectures abroad, serving as a mentor to other cybersecurity-focused soldiers. She is the widow of the late Felicisimo Esteban Taborlupa Jr., who was also her master from the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Class of 2000.