He said that this incident made a profound impact on his idealism on soldiery and opened his "eyes to the realities and consequences of military mismanagement in the field.

Almonte was assigned in a three-man advance party along with Maj. Fidel Ramos to lay down the ground work for the arrival of the Philippine Civic Action Group (PHILCAGV).

In this capacity, without escaping controversy and the ire of the American intelligence community in Vietnam, Almonte was able to successfully contact his counterparts in the Viet Cong.

Despite the Philippines being considered as the United States' strongest ally in Southeast Asia, the Marcos government saw that the US was going to lose in Vietnam, and thus the need to establish ties with the "enemy.

Considered as one of the level-headed thinkers and strategist in the AFP, Almonte was approached by the leaders of the Reform the Armed Forces Movement (RAM) during its infancy, to seek counsel and have him take as an advisor to the group.

When Operation Big Bird was wrapped up by the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG), Almonte was tasked by Aquino to head the EIIB.

The Chinese government cordoned off the embassy, preventing the defectors from leaving, but a few weeks later a deal was brokered, and Hwang and his companion Kim Duk-hong were permitted to fly out of Beijing for a 3rd country.

Hwang and Kim arrived in Clark Air Base, and were taken custody by the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) and brought them to a safe house in Baguio.

[9][10] On February 25, 2015, Almonte launched a book entitled Endless Journey: A Memoir as told to veteran journalist Marites Dañguilan-Vitug.

Leaders of the RAM, however, including Sen. Gregorio Honasan, then a colonel, belied Almonte's narrative in the book, which they called "dishonest and irresponsible", and "were directly in conflict with the reality at the time.