ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (PNA) - Army Lt. Gen. Raymundo Ferrer has vowed to adopt the peace-building approach in resolving conflict as he assumed Friday the top post in the Western Mindanao Command (Wesmincom). Ferrer was installed by Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Voltaire Gazmin in a turnover of command ceremony held at Camp Basilio Navarro in this city attended by top civil and military officials. Ferrer replaced Maj. Gen. Romeo Lustestica, the concurrent commander of the Army's First Infantry Division, who was designated as General Officer-in-Charge (GOIC) following the retirement of Marine Lt. Gen. Benjamin Dolorfino last Nov. 10.
Ferrer said he will pursue the peace-building approach by engaging all concerned stakeholders in conflict resolution. However, Ferrer said the troops will continue to address threat groups like the Abu Sayyaf bandits and other lawless groups with military operations. "We shall share the battle space with other peace-builders from the civil society, people organizations and non-government organizations. Through capacity building we will help strengthen conflict resolution mechanism to ensure that petty incidents will not escalate," Ferrer said. "Transforming to peace builders will not be an attempt to undermine the warrior culture of our soldiers as this is the foundation of our armed forces. I will therefore ensure that our soldiers will also receive the necessary proficiency training," he added. Ferrer started adopting the peace-building approach to solve conflicts when he was assigned from 2004 to 2006 as brigade commander in Basilan province. "That is where I was enlightened as a brigade commander in Basilan that peace is not merely the absence of war but also the absence of injustice, hence, I have adopted peace building as a general approach in resolving conflict," he said. "As I take over the leadership of Wesmincom, I vowed to continue with the peace-building approach that I have started as a brigade commander in Basilan," he added.
He said fighting a war is not the only choice that a soldier has in order to accomplish the mission. He said what a soldier needs "is to learn how to build peace and make it last." "As I often said the traditional military solution of war fighting is not always the best solution to whatever mission the Filipino soldiers confront today," he added. He explained that dialogues remove the biases the people have on the soldiers and "at the same time the soldiers could see how the people live, what they really want and how the military organization could help them." Ferrer said Wesmincom will develop a joint security measure with the police "so that we can secure population centers, vital installations, development projects of the government." Once it is in place, Ferrer said development undertakings by the government will continue and will not be hampered by conflict, adding that development will eventually overcome insurgency. Ferrer expressed his gratitude to President Aquino for the latter's continued trust and confidence in him as a military officer. Ferrer also thanked Gazmin for recommending him to the President to take over the helm of the Wesmincom from the military's Eastern Mindanao Command (Eastmincom). "I would like to extend my deepest appreciation to our Commander-in-Chief, His Excellency, President Benigno Simeon Aquino III, for his continued trust and confidence in me," Ferrer said during the turnover of command ceremony. Ferrer was installed by Gazmin as the new Wesmincom chief after the President approved the former's designation to head the command which was left vacant with the retirement from military service of Lt. Gen. Benjamin Dolorfino last Nov. 10. Maj. Gen. Romeo Lustestica, First Infantry Division commander, served as the General Officer-in-Charge (GOIC) from the time Dolorfino retired from the service up to the time President Aquino approved the designation of Ferrer as the new Wesmincom chief. Ferrer vowed to perform beyond what is expected of him by the President as well as the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) heirarchy as the commander of the Wesmincom. Gazmin said Ferrer is not new in Wesmincom, citing the latter has served as battalion commander when the former was still the Army 103rd Infantry Brigade commander in Basilan province. Ferrer later became the Army 103rd Infantry Brigade commander as well as the commander of the First Infantry Division based in Zamboanga del Sur province.
Gazmin described Ferrer as the best preferred senior officer to take the reign of enormous responsibility as the commander of Wesmincom. "He (Ferrer) is a very seasoned combat officer," Gazmin said. He said Ferrer has become a native Army officer in the entire Mindanao since the latter served most of his years in the military in the southern Philippines area. Ferrer has served as the commander of the Army 6th Infantry Brigade based in Central Mindanao after his stint at the First Infantry Brigade and later on was assigned to head the Eastmincom. Maj. Gen. Arturo Tabaquero replaced Ferrer as the new Eastmincom chief
