Newly-promoted Lt. Gen. Arnel Bernardino Dela Vega formally assumed on Wednesday the post of new commander of Western Mindanao Command.

Department of National Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana was present in a ceremony held at the military headquarters in Zamboanga City.

Dela Vega replaced General Carlito Galvez who was appointed as the Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff last month.

In his speech, Dela Vega vowed to further intensify the campaign against the proliferation of loose firearms in his area.

“While Mindanao is still under martial law until the end of the year, the command thru its different joint task forces shall endeavour to intensify further our campaign against the proliferation of loose firearms as this is one vital factor that terrorism, illegal drugs, rido and common crimes, at the very least, continue to persist,” he said.

“We already recovered almost six thousand loose firearms since the start of the year and we shall continue to do so until the communities become relatively safer than ever,” he added.

Dela Vega also emphasized the military’s commitment to human rights as the implementation of martial law continues until the end of the year.

“In all our undertakings, we shall manifest anew our commitment that we will continue to respect human rights, adhere to the international humanitarian law and observed the rule of law,” he said.

Before his assumption as the new Wesmincom chief, Dela Vega served as the 34th commander of the 6th Infantry Division of the Philippine Army and Joint Task Force (JTF) Central. Robina Asido/DMS