Esperon to install new 6th ID commander

CAMP SIONGCO, Maguindanao — Maj. Gen. Agustin Dema-ala, Central Mindanao’s battle-hardened Army general known for having neutralized 48 members of the notorious Pentagon kidnap-for-ransom gang, will retire tomorrow and relinquish the helm of the 6th Infantry Division to an equally decorated successor from Luzon.

Dema-ala, who hails from Koronadal City, South Cotabato, said his stint as commander of the 6th ID, whose units are scattered in what could be the most hostile territories in the South, was the most challenging in his 34 years as an Army officer.

"I have spent about three-fourths, or about 25 years of my life, in the Philippine Army in Mindanao. It hurts to say goodbye to my subordinates and the people who helped me perform my duty as a soldier efficiently," Dema-ala told The STAR.

Dema-ala, as commander of the Army’s 604th Infantry Brigade in Tacurong City from 2002 to 2003, personally supervised more than a dozen operations against the Pentagon gang that resulted in the deaths of 48 kidnappers in one encounter after another.

Army chief Lt. Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr. will preside over Dema-ala’s turnover of his post to Maj. Gen. Rodolfo Obaniana, an Ilocano.

Esperon said like Dema-ala, Obaniana is a "down-to-earth" officer known for his dedication to serving the poor in areas where he is assigned.

"He is very qualified to become the commanding general of the 6th ID. He is very well-versed in the intricacies of the security situation in Mindanao, particularly Central Mindanao," he said.

As a colonel, Obaniana was the commanding officer of the 25th Infantry Battalion, a 6th ID unit involved in various civil-military projects.

Esperon said Obaniana, prior to his new designation, was the chief of the Army’s Training and Doctrine Command in Fort Bonifacio.