SHOWING it is dead serious in ending the threats borne by Islamic State (IS)-inspired terrorism, the military has designated its fiercest ground commander and one of its most intelligent officers as the head of its forces in Central Mindanao, hoping he could further play out his attributes as an operation and battlefield “genius” against Islamic militants.
The Army installed Brig. Gen. Cirilito E. Sobejana as the new commander of the 6th Infantry Division (ID) based in Maguindanao last Saturday, tasking him with the objective of neutralizing Central Mindanao-based terrorist groups, including the three factions of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters that have been working under the shadows of the IS.
Sobejana, considered a “living legend” in the military due to his battlefield exploits, moved to Maguindanao from Sulu wherein he had served as the commander of the Joint Task Force Sulu. Under him, soldiers hunted members of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) “like rats” in the province.
Sobejana succeeded Lt. Gen. Arnel de la Vega, who had been promoted as the new commander of the Armed Forces Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom), which was vacated earlier as a result of the designation of former Westmincom Commander Carlito G. Galvez Jr. as chief of staff of the Armed Forces of Philippines (AFP).
Some officers said that had the military top brass exercised and considered merits in the latest designations in the Westmincom, then Sobejana, a Medal for Valor awardee, would have readily been the successor of Galvez.
Army Chief Lt. Gen. Rolando Joselito Bautista, who graced the installation ceremony for Sobejana, encouraged all members of the 6th ID to accord Sobejana “the same support and commitment that they have given to their former commander.”
As the former commander of the Joint Task Force Sulu, Sobejana forced the surrender of 76 ASG members and the turnover of 700 firearms, which was presented to the President in one of his visits in Patikul, Sulu.
Under Sobejana, military forces in Sulu managed to scale down the formerly unabated kidnapping activities of the terrorist group in Sulu and reduced the number of its being held kidnap victims to less than 10, following the successive rescue of victims.
The Joint Task Force Sulu under Sobejana initiated a different strategy in dealing with the ASG by prioritizing the group’s leaders in its operation, thus forcing the surrenders of lowly fighters after they have become headless.
Sobejana belong to the crème dela crème of warriors in the military. Then as a company commander of the Army’s First Scout Ranger Regiment, he led his men in four hours of firefight against more than 150 ASG bandits in January 1995 in Basilan, which left 30 terrorists dead.
During the firefight, bullets from the ASG have nearly cut off Sobejana’s right arm, but he held it from falling by biting his right thumb while using his left arm to continuously fire at the enemy while leading and giving battle orders to his men.