By Calvin Cordova
CEBU CITY—The Armed Forces of the Philippines’ Central Command (Centcom) has a new chief.
Major General Noel Clemente assumed the post during the change of command ceremony Thursday at Camp Lapu-Lapu in Barangay Apas.
Clemente said he “is humbled to replace” Lt. General Paul Atal, who was Centcom chief for 10 months. Atal will be reassigned to AFP’s General Headquarters in Quezon City.
AFP Chief of Staff Carlito Galvez Jr. attended the ceremony.
Atal thanked the national and local government units as well as other sectors in helping his leadership implement the AFP’s Transformation Roadmap, which is a 15-year strategy to transform the military into a strong and credible institution built on good governance.
Atal asked Centcom personnel to support Clemente and also encouraged the community to rally behind the new Centcom chief to achieve peace in the region.
Clemente, on the other hand, said ensuring a peaceful election next year will be one of his main goals.
“That’s a very big issue for next year. We have to make sure that our people can elect the right people without anybody threatening them,” he said.
Clemente said one of the orders given to him by the AFP Chief of Staff is to come up with an effective campaign against insurgency
“The order was to make sure that we will able to lessen the capabilities of the enemies. Harness our available forces and work together with local government units because we cannot do our job without the help of our counterparts,” said Clemente.
Clemente assured that Centcom will be ready to provide assistance in the campaign against illegal drugs.
“The police have our full support. The role of the military in the campaign against illegal drugs is to help in intelligence gathering to identify possible targets and also if needed, assist in apprehensions especially if the targets have the firepower,” said Clemente.