Outgoing AFP chief Guerrero satisfied with accomplishments

Outgoing Armed Forces of the Philippines chief General Rey Leonardo Guerrero on Tuesday said he is satisfied with what the military has achieved so far under his six-month leadership.

Guerrero, who is set to retire after 38 years in the military, said there still a lot to improve in terms of "systems and processes" of the AFP.

"Personally, I'm satisfied with what has been accomplished by the AFP under my stewardship," he said in an interview with reporters after the unveiling of marker and blessing ceremony of the Defense Press Corps office in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.

Asked on what else he would have done in the AFP, Guerrero said: "Organizationally, marami pang dapat i-improve sa systems and processes ng Armed Forces but I believe given yung initial steps, I already taken the initial steps to make sure that the next chief of staff would be able to follow through doon sa nasimulan."

As of April 15, a total of 6,817 New People's Army personalities were neutralized under his term as AFP chief through the focused military and intelligence operations.

Of this number, 6,709 have surrendered which is composed of 723 regular NPA's and Sangay ng Partido sa Lokal members, 513 Militia ng Bayan, 712 underground organizations members, and 4,761 mass supporters.

Forty-seven NPAs were also killed while 61 others were apprehended in "legitimate focused military operations." Seized from the NPAs were a total of 288 assorted firearms.

Terror groups

Aside from this, 457 members of local terror groups and foreign fighters were neutralized. Of this number, 81 were killed, 280 were arrested and 96 have surrendered.

It was also under the term of Guerrero when he was faced with a challenging task of rebuilding the war-torn city of Marawi which was liberated during the month he was installed at the helm of the AFP.

The military has so far found and disposed a total of 3,953 assorted unexploded ordnance (UXO) and 738 improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

Seven out of nine sectors in the main battle area of Marawi have already been cleared from explosives, while the remaining two sectors are still being cleared.

The AFP said it was also under Guerrero's guidance that the military was able to strictly implement the campaign against loose firearms through utilizing the martial law in Mindanao as a total of 1,424 assorted loose firearms have been surrendered to government forces.

Lanao del Sur residents and officials have surrendered 81 firearms on March 24 and March 26 while 106 firearms were surrendered by local executives in Maguindanao last March 26 and 27.

Guerrero is set to turn over the AFP's top post in a change of command ceremony on April 18 to Galvez, who is the current commander of the Western Mindanao Command (Wesmincom).

He was supposed to retire on December 17, 2017 when he reached the mandatory retirement age of 56 but President Rodrigo Duterte extended his service for four months.

Duterte will lead the turnover ceremony in Camp Aguinaldo, where Guerrero will also be honored with a testimonial parade and review and awarded with the Philippine Legion of Honor. 

In January, Duterte said that Guerrero will be the next administrator of Maritime Industry Authority.

Asked on his plans after his retirement, Guerrero said that he would "take a much needed restful sleep."

"I do not think I will be missing anything, 34 years of doing the same thing all over, palagay ko lang siguro magpahinga muna," he said. — RSJ, GMA News