Lieutenant General
Ricardo Rainier Cruz III and Major
General Aurelio Balada, behind.
Philippine military chief General Gregorio Catapang, Lieutenant General Ricardo Rainier Cruz III and Major General Aurelio Baladad and their wives.
General Ricardo Rainier Cruz III, commander of the Eastern Mindanao Command, has retired Saturday formally ending his 17-month stint as one of the best military officer behind the capture of four of the most notorious leaders of the communist rebel group New People’s Army in southern Philippines.
Soft-spoken and low-key, the 56-year old Cruz was largely
credited by the military for the drastic decline of NPA offensives in the
eastern part of Mindanao . During his time -
from April 22, 2013 to September 6, 2014 – at least 247
armed rebels had surrendered to the Eastern Mindanao Command, taking advantage
of the “Guns for Peace Program” that Cruz aggressively pursued under the “Oplan
Bayanihan” or the Internal
Peace and Security Plan to give fresh hope to those deceived
by the communist ideology.
Under Cruz’s leadership, the Eastern Mindanao Command scored
not one, but two major accomplishments with the capture of two wanted front
secretaries and two other regional secretaries of the Communist Party of the Philippines
He was also able to free Paquibato District in Davao City
which was long under the influence of the NPA that allowed the government and
other stakeholders to launched various socio-economic development.
The Eastern Mindanao Command was also adjudged as the “Best
Unified Command” of the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ Performance Base Bonus
in 2013, and was a recipient of Certificate of Excellence for having attained
an excellent rating of 96.80% in Leadership and Management, Morale and Welfare,
and Discipline, Law and Order during the conduct of Annual General Inspection
last year.
Cruz, a member of the Philippine Military Academy Class
1980, had successfully implemented the Oplan Bayanihan through
the Eastern Mindanao Command’s campaign plan dubbed “Panagdait Mindanaw II”
aimed at winning peace in the region. Panagdait is local term which means “to
help each other.”
He also signed three Joint Letter Directives with the
Philippine National Police that further strengthened the operational inter-operability
of the AFP and the PNP against the threats posed by NPA, and built partnerships
with the different stakeholders clamoring for peace and stability in eastern Mindanao region.
With that, Cruz managed to secure the cooperation and
support of various companies and corporations in the region to provide
“Corporate Social Responsibility” packages for the campaign that brought the
peace and development teams closer to the communities.
Cruz also led the “Joint Task Force Tambayayong II” - a
contingent of construction-skilled soldiers assembled from the different units
of the Eastern Mindanao Command that assisted in the repair and reconstruction
of damaged houses and public utilities; and supported the delivery and
distribution of tons of foreign and local relief goods in the earthquake and
typhoon (Haiyan) stricken provinces in the Visayas.
Under his command, Cruz oversaw the planning and execution
of the 32nd and 33rd Republic of the Philippines – Republic of Indonesia
Border Committee Chairmen
For now, Cruz said he would spend much of his time with his
beautiful wife and two children. “I will now have more time with my family, my
beautiful wife and two children, watch television and movies with them, cooking
and gardening and enjoy the civilian life,” he told the regional newspaper
Mindanao Examiner, adding, he would also attend to the estate of his father in Quezon City
Cruz was formally replaced by similarly decorated Major
General Aurelio Baladad, who belongs to the Philippine Military Academy Class
1982, was the former commander of the 3rd Infantry Division in
the Visayas and held various positions in the past as brigade and assistant
division commander with the 2nd and 9th Infantry
Divisions in Rizal and Camarines Sur provinces.
http://www.mindanaoexaminer.net/2014/09/eastern-mindanao-decorated-general.html
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