Veteran general is 41st Army chief

A veteran general who led a campaign against Muslim separatists in the South was officially sworn in yesterday as the new chief of the Philippine Army.

President Estrada formally turned over the saber to Lt. Gen. Diomedio Villanueva, the former chief of military’s Southern Command based in Zamboanga City, making him the 41st Army chief.

Villanueva replaces Lt. Gen. Voltaire Gazmin, who fought seven coup attempts as commander of the Presidential Security Group during the Aquino administration. Gazmin reached the mandatory retirement age of 56 yesterday.

A graduate of the elite Philippine Military Academy, Villanueva, 54, earlier this year spearheaded a major military assault against the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) as part of Mr. Estrada’s order to crush insurgent groups.

The assault, considered the biggest since the 1970s, dealt a major blow to the MILF, leading to the fall of its main headquarters and dozens of other smaller camps and the dispersal of its guerrillas into the jungle.

However, stragglers from the 15,000-strong MILF have still managed to stage a series of bombings and killings across Mindanao in recent months.

Villanueva also led the assault on the smaller Abu Sayyaf rebel group to rescue a group of teachers and students abducted in March. The extremists are currently on the run from a military operation to rescue their latest hostage haul.

He was also at one time an Army brigade commander who led a campaign against communist insurgents in Marag Valley in the northern Philippines.

A decorated soldier, Villanueva is also a graduate of higher military studies in Indonesia and the prestigious US Army War College in Pennsylvania.

"In my term, I will make sure that everything the Army has fought for and sacrificed lives for will not be squandered and put to waste," Villanueva said.

He also vowed to confront all threats to national security and help ensure peace and order as well as further "professionalize" the Army, considered among the weakest in the region.

Mr. Estrada said Villanueva deserved his new post, after discharging his duties in Mindanao "very well."

"I am confident that with your extensive knowlege and experience in the Army, you will continue, if not surpass the achievements of the leadership that you suceed," he told Villanueva.

The Chief Executive also assured Villanueva of continued support in "whatever constructive initiatives" of the Army.

Mr. Estrada graced the occasion with Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado, Armed Forces chief Gen. Angelo Reyes, and ranking government officials.

Also joining present at the ceremony were Villanueva’s classmates at the PMA – AFP vice chief of staff Lt. Gen. Jose Calimlim and Brig. Gen Roberto Santiago, commander of the Army’s 2nd Infantry Batallion.

After the ceremony, Mercado met with Villanueva and other Army officials to discuss the current situation in the country.

Mercado advised Villanueva: "Let us not engage in any partisan politics."

In response, Villanueva said: "The Philippine Army under my command will obey and defend the Constitution at all costs."– AFP, Christina Mendez