Army’s ‘Lion Tamer’ is next Southcom chief

COTABATO CITY — The commander of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, who had earned the moniker "Lion Tamer" for his role in the recent capture of 36 camps of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Central Mindanao, will assume as chief of the Armed Forces’ Southern Command on Oct. 27, military sources said.

Maj. Gen. Gregorio Camiling Jr., who has completed his tour of duty as 6th ID commander, was endorsed to be the next Southcom chief by various sectors, including the business and political communities.

For Camiling, who belongs to the Philippine Military Academy Class 1969, it was his stint as 6th ID chief that made his military career become more colorful.

Maj. Julieto Ando, 6th ID spokesman, said Camiling’s designation as Southcom chief has been announced by key sources from the office of the Army’s commanding general.

Camiling fostered good relations not only with the business and religious communities, but with the political sector and the media as well.

Under his command, elements of the 6th ID and all units under its operation control, including the 2nd and 3rd Marine Brigades, succeeded in restoring government control over MILF-occupied areas.

More than 200 MILF rebels also turned themselves in to the 6th ID, thanks to the efforts of the division’s civil-military operations office and the battalion commanders of its field units.

Among the major MILF camps the 6th ID had captured during Camiling’s term were Camp Omar in the second district of Maguindanao, and Camp Abubakar, the front’s last bastion which fell to government control last July 9 after a week-long offensive.

On July 9, Camiling was among the first soldiers to set foot at the marching grounds of Camp Abubakar’s Abdurahman Bedis Memorial Military Academy where more than a dozen foreigners used to train young fighters in handling weapons and explosives.

"He is a brave Army officer, yet very humble, and (who would rather) remain silent about his accomplishments," said Maj. Onting Alon, the 6th ID’s former civil affairs chief.