Over 200 new Army recruits to join in Mindanao peace-building projects

MAGUINDANAO — More than 200 more new soldiers trained to propagate “culture of peace” will join the Army’s 6th Infantry Division to help in domestic military programs promoting Muslim-Christian unity.

Brig. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana said Sunday they completed last week the admission training at 6th ID’s training school in Barangay Semba in Datu Odin Sinsuat town in Maguindanao.

Sobejana, commander of 6th ID, has ministerial control over the division training school that also handles special rescue and emergency lessons for civilian disaster response groups.

The 264 new Army recruits comprise the 2018 “Siklab” Candidate Soldiers’ Course, admitted after an oath-taking rite last March.

Sobejana said besides regular combat classroom and field lessons, they were also taught subjects on search and rescue and calamity mitigation operations.

“We are confident we have produced a batch of soldiers who understood too the efforts of Malacañang to build an enduring peace among Mindanao’s Muslim, Christian and Lumad residents,” Sobejana said.

All of the four brigades and more than a dozen battalions under Sobejana are implementing various peace-building programs complementing the peace process between the national government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

Trainees Wenfer Parreño and Kelvin Regidor ranked first and second, respectively, in academic and non-academic subjects of the 2018 Siklab candidate soldier’s training.

Aguinaldo Plarisan obtained the highest grade in physical fitness test while Arce Nabos got the “Top Gun” award for having excelled in firearms marksmanship training.

Sobejana said all of the new soldiers shall participate in military projects promoting cordiality among central Mindanao’s Muslim, Christian and Lumad sectors.

The 6th ID covers central Mindanao’s adjoining Maguindanao, North Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat provinces and several towns in Lanao del Sur, where there are dozens of government-recognized MILF enclaves.

The MILF and the government have two peace compacts, the 2013 Framework Agreement on Bangsamoro and the 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on Bangsamoro.