6th ID chief now heads Westmincom
Local News • 15:50 PM Mon Jan 16, 2017
5,383
By:
Edwin O. Fernandez
Maj. Gen. Carlito Galvez Jr, incoming Westmincom commander.
CAMP SIONGCO, Maguindanao – Maj. Gen. Carlito Galvez
Jr is barely to warm his seat as division commander of the Army’s 6th
Infantry Kampilan Division when he was designated by President Duterte to
head the Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom).
Galvez, a known peace advocate and earned the
respect non-government organizations and political leaders in Central Mindanao,
will soon leave the Kampilan division based here to lead a bigger military
organization tasked to ensure security in the most troubled region.Tomorrow, Galvez will replace Lt. Gen. Mayoralgo
dela Cruz as Westmincom chief. Dela Cruz is designated as the new Inspector
General of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
Taking Galvez’s post at 6th ID is Brig.
Gen. Arnel dela Vega, a peace advocate and environmentalist too.
For the officers and men of the 6th ID,
Galvez was known as peace advocate in and out.
He is also set to be promoted to the rank of lieutenant general, a three star rank in the AFP.Galvez told reporters he is heading to a bigger task with bigger challenges, especially with the directive of President Duterte to crush the extremist Abu Sayyaf Group, contain kidnapping, piracy, the Maute Group and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters.Westmincom covers half of Mindanao, specifically from Lanao Sur to Sultan Kudarat and from Zamboanga del Norte to Tawi-Tawi. Eastmincom covers the other half of the island.Who is Gen. Galvez?
In its website, the Philippine Army said Gen. Galvez
was the Battalion Commander of the 1st Scout Ranger Battalion which was engaged
in a series of bloody gun battles with Abu Sayyaf terrorists in Basilan and
Sulu from 2000-2002.Under his leadership, the unit was adjudged as the
Best Scout Ranger Battalion for two consecutive years.The unit is known for
having three Medal for Valor awardees and five awardees of The Outstanding
Philippine Soldiers coming from its ranks.Galvez earned his first Gold Cross award and Wounded
Personnel Medal as a junior officer, while fighting communist bandits in Davao
in mid 1980s.
He is also a fellow of Eisenhower Fellowships, USA.
He attended courses at the Asian Institute of
Management and Harvard University. He is a member of PMA ‘Sandiwa’ Class of
1985.Having seen the ugly face of armed conflicts, Gen.
Galvez is also a peace advocate. He once served as a chairperson of the
Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH) that monitors the
GRP-MILF Peace Process.