COTABATO CITY, Philippines --- Maguindanao del Norte Vice Gov. Marshall Sinsuat on Thursday assured of his support for the peacebuilding activities and the civil-military relations efforts of the 6th Infantry Division, which has a new commander, Brig. Gen. Edgar Catu.
Catu was installed as 6th ID's commander on Thursday morning by the Philippine Army’s commander, Lt. Gen. Donald Gumiran, via a traditional military unit leadership transition rite at Camp Siongco in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte, replacing Brig. Ricky Bunayog, who was the division’s acting commander for about three months.
The event was witnessed by local executives from across Central Mindanao, among them Maguindanao del Norte Vice Gov. Marshall Sinsuat and Mayor Bruce Matabalao of Cotabato City, the regional capital of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
Sinsuat, a first term vice governor, and Matabalao, who is chairperson of the multi-sector Cotabato City Peace and Order Council, are both staunch supporters of the 6th ID’s outreach activities meant to foster interfaith cohesion and cultural solidarity among residents in provinces and cities under its jurisdiction.
Sinsuat, whose hometown, Datu Blah Sinsuat, is touted as the most peaceful town in the province, told reporters, at the sideline of Thursday’s event at Camp Siongco, that he shall to continue support the peacebuilding thrusts of the 6th ID, under its new commander, Catu, just as he did during the time of his predecessors.
“I don’t have a problem doing that. My constituent-community leaders in our municipality in Maguindanao del Norte shall also do the same,” Sinsuat said.
Sinsuat had a brief huddle with Gumiran after the installation of Catu as 6th ID commander at the gymnasium in Camp Siongco in Barangay Awang in Datu Odin Sinsuat, where the 6th ID’s headquarters is located.
Gumiran had served as 6th ID commander before he was designated commander of the Western Mindanao Command based in Zamboanga City and, subsequently, as Philippine Army chief.
Datu Blah Sinsuat, which is in the west of Maguindanao del Norte and has 13 seaside barangays, is also tagged as the new investment hub in the province owing to its having had an almost zero crime record in the past seven years.
The mayor of Datu Blah Sinsuat, Raida Tomawis-Sinsuat, is the presiding chairperson of their multi-sector municipal peace and order council, whose members include leaders of the Muslim, Christian and the indigenous Teduray communities in the municipality.