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By Al Jacinto, Correspondent
Military commanders in Mindanao vowed to support
the new government peace adviser, Hermogenes Esperon, former chief
of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, who on June 16 takes over
the job of Secretary Jesus Dureza.
President Gloria Arroyo last week named Esperon
as the new Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, a post
previously held by Jesus Dureza, who becomes press secretary.
Esperon, 56, retired early this month ending
decades of a glorious past as a decorated combat commander in
strife-torn Mindanao to peace builder in Sulu.
He was the Philippine armed forces chief of
staff until recently.
“From being a military commander to
peacemaker, we know Secretary Hermogenes Esperon will certainly work
hard to achieve lasting peace in Mindanao. He knows the problem in
Mindanao very well because he had told us many times in the past
that the only solution to insurgency problems is peace and
development,” Lt. Col. Julieto Ando, spokesman of the Army’s
Sixth Infantry Division in Mindanao, said.
“Secretary Esperon had always told us to
support the government peace process because fighting is not the
solution to the problems of Mindanao. The solution, he said always,
is sincerity to the peace process and peace we shall achieve, he
would always say. And Secretary Esperon served well during his time
as military chief and we see peace finally coming,” Ando added.
Ando said the rank and file are also behind
Esperon and supportive of the government peace process.
Manila is currently negotiating peace with the
Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the country’s largest Muslim rebel
group fighting for independence in the South. Besides the MILF, the
government is trying to revive peace talks with the communist New
People’s Army rebels, which is also fighting for the establishment
of a Maoist state in the Philippines.
The MILF said it would want to see the
resumption of the stalled peace talks and how Esperon would be able
to help in finding a just and lasting solution to the Muslim
insurgency problems in Mindanao.
In Zamboanga City, the Western Mindanao Command,
which secures half of the southern Philippines, also threw its
support to Esperon, who was previously the chief of the now defunct
Southern Command.
“We knew how the General put his efforts in
maintaining peace in Mindanao. He would be the last military
commander who would want to see fighting in the southern Philippines
and that is why troops are elated when they learned that General
Esperon has been named as the new Presidential peace adviser,”
Maj. Eugene Batara, the spokesman of the Western Mindanao Command
said.
“General Esperon has that knowledge and
experiences on how to maintain peace and security in Mindanao. He
advocated peace in the past and it never changes, it is still there,
peace, he will always tell the soldiers, can be achieved if we work
altogether to achieve it,” he added.
The commitment to support the government peace
process remains strong among soldiers in other parts of Mindanao.
In Davao City, home to the military’s Eastern
Mindanao Command, spokesman Col. Roland Bautista said troops also
wanted peace in the troubled region and not fighting with rebels.
“Our soldiers want peace. We do not want any
fighting. We want peace to reign in Mindanao so we can help and work
together in developing this beautiful region of Mindanao. General
Esperon, being the former chief of the Philippine military, can
really do a lot to achieve lasting peace and our troops are united
behind him as the new government peace adviser,” Bautista said.
In Sulu, the provincial governor Sakur Tan has
praised Esperon because of his efforts in bringing peace and
development in the island-province, one of six that comprises the
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
“The man has really worked hard to achieve
peace in Sulu and helped us a lot when he was the Armed Forces chief
through many partnership projects such as roads and schools and
other humanitarian efforts. Our support is solidly behind Secretary
Hermogenes Esperon and we also continuously support the peace and
development efforts of President Gloria Arroyo and the ARMM Gov.
Zaldy Ampatuan,” Tan said.
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