Decorated Marine Commander Is New Deputy Chief Of AFP In Western Mindanao

ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 23 Mar) – A decorated Philippine Marine commander who fought the Abu Sayyaf in Jolo island has been named as deputy commander of the Armed Forces’ Western Mindanao Command (WestMinCom).

Brigadier General Juancho Sabban, head of the 3rd Marine Brigade in Jolo, is now second in command of military forces in the whole of western part of Mindanao.

Army Major General Eugenio Cedo is commander of the WestMinCom based in Zamboanga City.

Sabban served as Jolo’s Marine chief the past two years and has been largely credited for the capture and killing of top Abu Sayyaf leaders, including its chieftain Khadaffy Janjalani in September last year.

He was involved in the rescue of many Abu Sayyaf hostages and a U.S. missionary kidnapped by the terror group in 2001.

“I have been a brigade commander (in Jolo island) for two years now and I have to move on so others can be promoted too,” he told the Mindanao Examiner.

Sabban is recipient of many awards and medals because of his exemplary accomplishments. He also served in the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force and assumed various commands in the military. (Mindanao Examiner)