Southern Command chief Maj. Gen. Gabriel Habacon. (Zamboanga Journal) ZAMBOANGA CITY (Zamboanga Journal / 11 Jan) -- A decorated army commander Maj. Gen. Gabriel Habacon vowed Wednesday to crush terrorism, as he formally took over as the new chief of military forces in the southern Philippines.
"We will intensify the government's antiterrorism campaign and crush the terrorists," Habacon said, adding, he ordered troops to run after the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiya groups, and the communist New People's Army rebels, blamed for the spate of killings and bombings in the southern region.
Habacon, commander of the First Infantry Division, replaced Lt. Gen. Edilberto Adan, who retired at the age of 56.
President Gloria Arroyo appointed Habacon, a member of the Class '73 of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA), as chief of the Southern Command, the largest military installation outside Manila which has control over three army divisions, an air force and two naval bases, and all marine forces, in Mindanao island, Sulu archipelago and Tawi-Tawi province.
Armed Forces chief Gen. Generoso Senga and Army chief Lt. Gen. Hermogenes Esperon praised Habacon, saying, he is a veteran in the Mindanao anti-insurgency campaign and is largely bahind the arrest of many terror leaders in the south.
"We will intensify the government's antiterrorism campaign and crush the terrorists," Habacon said, adding, he ordered troops to run after the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiya groups, and the communist New People's Army rebels, blamed for the spate of killings and bombings in the southern region.
Habacon, commander of the First Infantry Division, replaced Lt. Gen. Edilberto Adan, who retired at the age of 56.
President Gloria Arroyo appointed Habacon, a member of the Class '73 of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA), as chief of the Southern Command, the largest military installation outside Manila which has control over three army divisions, an air force and two naval bases, and all marine forces, in Mindanao island, Sulu archipelago and Tawi-Tawi province.
Armed Forces chief Gen. Generoso Senga and Army chief Lt. Gen. Hermogenes Esperon praised Habacon, saying, he is a veteran in the Mindanao anti-insurgency campaign and is largely bahind the arrest of many terror leaders in the south.
"General Habacon passed a grueling selection process to become the new commander of the Southern Command, and he is the best," Senga told hundreds of troops in Zamboanga City during the handover ceremony attended by senior military and police commanders and government officials in Zamboanga City.
Esperon, for his part, said soldiers will continue to support Habacon.
"He is well respected and is a very good leader. The soldiers are united and supporting General Habacon," he said.
Habacon was former commander of the antiterror Joint Task Force Comet based in Jolo island and instrumental in the arrest of many key leaders of the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf and Rajah Soliman groups and members of the Jemaah Islamiya.
He is largely credited by the government for the capture of dozens of top New People's Army (NPA) leaders in western Mindanao.
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