by Julius Mariveles and Mira Nicole Magbanua
CAMP NELSON GERONA, Barangay Minoyan, Murcia – Top military and civil officials gathered here today on the eve of Brigadier General Innocencio Pasaporte’s birthday as he retires officially after 35 years, eight months and 27 days as a soldier, and the official turn over of command as acting commander to Pasaporte’s mistah or military academy batchmate, Colonel Michael Samson.
Amid the awarding of medals, praises and well wishes for Pasaporte, who led the brigade in initiating more than 17,000 offensives that led to hundreds of rebels neutralized, the tone was still serious and uncompromising towards the Communist insurgency in the island that was once one of the rebel strongholds.
Army Major General Benedict Arevalo, who relinquished the brigade command to Pasaporte three years ago and now leads the Third Infantry Division, said in his speech that the division and units under it will continue to adhere to their motto “loved by the people, feared by the enemy.”
“We will make your worst nightmare come true,” Samson said in his speech after he officially assumed command.
He said his being a Negrense offers him a local perspective into the armed conflict waged by the Communists for the past 54 years in the countryside.
Samson called on rebels still in the hills to abandon armed struggle that he called “useless” and said he extends the hand of peace and reconciliation.
“We offer new a chance for a new life,” he said but for those who refuse to give up, Samson said “we will make your lives miserable” as he vowed to intensify the Army’s focused military operations to dismantle guerrilla fronts of the NPA.
