Major Gen. Carreon is Rajah Buayan’s adopted son
BANGSAMORO NEWS UPDATES • 08:15 AM Fri Oct 11, 2019
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By:
Edwin O. Fernandez
Gen. Carreon: "Humbled by the recognition"
RAJAH BUAYAN, Maguindanao – The commander of the fightingest Army division based in Maguindanao is now an adopted son of Rajah Buayan town after he was named “Datu Didagen.”
“Datu Didagen” is a Moro term that means “impregnable leader.”
Major Gen. Diosdado Carreon, the commander of the 6th Infantry Division and head of Army-led Joint Task Force Central (JTFC), was humbled by the honor.
On Monday, during simple yet meaningful and colorful program, the local government of Rajah Buayan, headed by Mayor Zamzamin L. Ampatuan and Vice Mayor Jacob L. Ampatuan, honored a military general for his valuable contribution to the peace and development of this once conflict affected town.
Mayor Ampatuan, with the authority from the town’s Sangguniang Bayan, conferred Major General the throne of “Datu Didagen,” which means “impregnable leader.”
He explained that the recognition to Gen. Carreon was “an honor given to him for his great contribution in making Rajah Buayan peaceful and secure, as well as his collaborative roles as partner for the development of the Buayan area.”
“Yes, he is an ‘adopted son’ of Rajah Buayan, and we accorded him respects, courtesies and honors as Datu,” Ampatuan said.
The conferment ceremony was held during Monday’s 15th founding anniversary of Rajah Buayan, a town carved out of the municipality of Sultan sa Barongis, Maguindanao.
The unprecedented event was witnessed by Gen. Carreon’s better half Gina, Colonel Elmer Kato, former 33rd Infantry Battalion commander, Lt. Colonel Elmer Boongaling, currently 33rd IB chief and Colonel Jose H. Narciso, 601st Infantry Brigade commander.
Speaking before the conferment, Mayor Ampatuan recalled how Carreon, then a brigadier general and Army colonel, devoted his time to ensure every resident of Rajah Buayan was safe.
“From the very start, I knew Gen. Carreon was a respected leader and one that cannot be defeated easily, impregnable he is,” Mayor Ampatuan said.
For his part, Carreon admitted he was humbled by the recognition and acknowledged the regal title with deep humility, heartfelt appreciation and respect.
"I can hardly find a word that rightly describe how I feel today being given this honor,” Carreon said.
“It’s really a great honor for me to be named as Datu Didagen,” he added.
Speaking further outside the conferment, Carreon rallied the people to continue shunning away the armed extremists.
“If you can tell them to lay down their arms, that would be a welcome move,” Carreon said. “Let’s stop all these wars, let’s stop all these atrocities, the military cannot do it alone, we need your help, the people of Raja Buayan,” he said in the vernacular.
Mayor Ampatuan earlier said that Rajah Buayan has been “BIFF-cleared,” saying the town has no armed members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF).
“The people are cooperating with the government, they report to us if they see armed BIFF in our 11 villages,” he said, admitting that “maybe there are relatives or sympathizes of BIFF here but they are not armed.”
Rajah Buayan was created through Muslim Mindanao Act 166. As of 2015 population count, Rajah Buayan has a population of 23,652.