Army’s 4th Infantry Division gets new commander

COTABATO CITY — Local executives in Region 10 have assured their support for the peacekeeping goals of the new commander of the Army’s 4th Infantry Division, as they did with his now retired predecessor, whose post he assumed on Wednesday, April 29.

Radio reports in Central Mindanao on Sunday stated that among those who have pledged to continue advancing the multi-sector community security programs of the 4th ID, now under acting commander Brig. Gen. Siegfred Tubalado, are members of the Regional Peace and Order Council 10, composed of local government officials, state line agencies, and sectoral representatives across Northern Mindanao.

The commanding general of the Philippine Army, Lt. Gen. Antonio Nafarrete, officiated the symbolic turnover of the 4th ID leadership from Maj. Gen. Michele Anayron Jr. to his successor, Tubalado, at the division headquarters in Camp Evangelista in Cagayan de Oro City last Wednesday.

The retired Anayron belongs to Philippine Military Academy Class of 1992.

Officials of the 4th ID and local executives in Northern Mindanao told reporters that during Anayron’s nearly two-year tenure, Army units in the region, together with municipal, city, and provincial governments, secured through backchannel dialogues the surrender and reintegration into mainstream society of 619 New People’s Army members.

“Your legacy will endure in the systems you built, the leaders you mentored, and the soldiers you inspired. Thank you for having served the Filipinos well,” Nafarrete said in a message during Wednesday’s ceremony at Camp Evangelista.

Nafarrete said he is confident that Tubalado will continue the 4th ID’s multi-sector peacebuilding initiatives that have weakened the NPA in various cities and provinces in Northern Mindanao.

The ceremony was capped with Nafarrete awarding Anayron a special citation plaque from his office.

Anayron also received a separate citation plaque from the military’s Eastern Mindanao Command, which has tactical and administrative control over the 4th ID and its component brigades and battalions.