Army general is new chief of gov’t ceasefire team

DAVAO CITY – Army Brig. Gen. Reynaldo Sealana is the new chairman of the government team to the Joint Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH).

Retired Lt. Gen. Rudolfo Garcia, chief government negotiator, told The STAR the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has officially accepted Sealana’s designation.

Sealana will replace Brig. Gen. Edgardo Gurrea, who retired from military service last Oct. 15.

However, Garcia said Sealana is awaiting his replacement as Army 803rd Infantry Brigade commander based in Catarman, Samar before he can assume his new post.

“He cannot leave his post at the 803rd IB unless his replacement comes in,” he said.

“That is why we have asked (Ed) Gurrea to first take charge while waiting for Sealana.”

Gurrea said he will stay as government chairman at CCCH in the meantime.

Gurrea said the CCCH, along with local officials, gave an orientation tour to the new head of the International Monitoring Team, Malaysian Gen. Daud Yasin in Cagayan de Oro City yesterday.

“We are orienting him and at the same time introducing him to the local officials and military officers in the field,” he said.

Gurrea said his replacement, Sealana, is known to him as a fine officer and a disciplined tactician who is also well-versed in peaceful resolution of security constraints in troubled areas.

“He is also the kind who would never leave a single stone unturned in finding peaceful solutions to peace and order problems in his area of assignment,” he said.

Gurrea was commander of the Army’s 603rd Brigade in Camp Abubakar, the former bastion of the MILF, before he was installed as chairman of the GRP-CCCH two years ago.

Sealana will also act as deputy commander for the peace process at Armed Forces Eastern Mindanao Command based in Davao City.

Before being named government ceasefire committee chairman, Sealana, a member of the Philippine Military Academy Class 1978, was commander of the Army’s 803rd Infantry Brigade based in Catarman, Samar.

Sealana was also the commander of the Army’s 104th Infantry Brigade based in Jolo, Sulu.

A native of Cagayan de Oro City, Sealana has served the military in various capacities in different units in Mindanao.

Clerics and peace advocates in Central Mindanao have advised Sealana to reach out to leaders of the MILF as if they were his “blood brothers” for him to be as efficient as Gurrea. – Edith Regalado, John Unson