Camp Lapulapu, Cebu City – Lieutenant General Erickson R Gloria PAF, the Vice Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (VCSAFP), commends the Visayas Command (VISCOM) for its significant accomplishments in its campaign.
“Let me commend Team VISCOM for a job well done, both operationally and administratively, especially on your successful clearing of focus areas, dismantling of guerilla fronts, and the neutralization of enemy vertical formation,” said LtGen. Gloria during the Command Briefing on Thursday at the De Goma Hall, Camp Lapu-Lapu, Cebu City.
The activity is part of the VCSAFP administration and supervision of the General Headquarters (GHQ) units, Unified Commands, and the AFP-Wide Service Support Units, and as Program 4 Resource Manager.
It was conducted in a blended engagement approach wherein the representatives of the different Coordinating Staff of the General Headquarters headed by Lt Gen Erickson R Gloria PAF attended virtually, while members of the Coordinating and Special Staff of VISCOM headed by Capt Oscar D Canlas Jr PN, the Deputy Commander and Col Vincent B Iringan PA, the Chief of the Unified Command Staff were present physically.
During the briefing, Col. Ronel Manalo PA, VISCOM’s Asst Chief of the Unified Command Staff for Operations presented the significant accomplishments of the Command relative to its previous and current campaigns; updates on the status of its personnel, logistics, and financial resources; status on the implementation of infrastructure projects; status of its AFP transformation roadmap institutionalization pathway and the status of its force-oriented cost information system.
Highlighted during the presentation are the significant accomplishments of VISCOM on internal security operations and disaster response operations. As for its internal security operations, from January 01 to date, VISCOM and its subordinate units were able to dismantle one guerilla front and have weakened another one guerilla front in its joint operational area.
These are apart from the 94 communist NPA terrorists who were neutralized, with 148 firearms seized for the period. Of the 94 communist NPA terrorists neutralized, 27 of whom were killed in 75 government-initiated encounters. The 94 communist NPA terrorists neutralized include: nine key personality leaders; four high-value individuals and five finance officers.
Meanwhile, as for its disaster response efforts, VISCOM reported that amidst the devastation they suffered following the onslaught of super typhoon ‘Odette’, still, they were able to mobilize and synchronize the Search, Rescue, and Retrieval (SRR) efforts of the 323 SRR Teams by putting up a Command Center even in the midst of heavy power interruption. Hundreds of personnel and mobility assets were also dispatched that expedited the delivery of 1,632,875 tons of relief goods to the affected communities. Two Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) communication assets were even installed in Bohol to facilitate efficient and reliable communication to the affected communities of the said province.
Likewise, during the onslaught of tropical depression “Agaton”, VISCOM and its subordinate units were able to provide immediate response leading to the successful rescue of 2,500 individuals who were trapped in a flash flood and the recovery of 123 cadavers that were buried during a landslide in Brgy. Kantagos, Baybay City, Leyte.
The VCSAFP also commended VISCOM for its immediate disaster response, saying, “I also commend you for a job well done on your humanitarian assistance and disaster response. Even if you are also directly affected by the calamity, you were still able to provide timely and needed assistance to our constituents in the Visayas region.”
LtGen. Erickson Gloria ended by encouraging the members of Team VISCOM to sustain their gains, saying that, “I encourage you to continue with your efforts and sustain your gains. With the character of your leaders, I am confident that you can achieve more.” (Victor Baldemor)
