New WesMinCom chief wants ASG eliminated

8 Saturday, July 18, 2009 Tempo

By: Nonoy E. Lacson

ZAMBOANGA CITY - Newly-installed Western Mindanao Command (WesMinCom) chief, Marine Major General Benjamin Mohammad Dolorfino has a clear policy eliminate the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG). "We will sustain our combat operations and enhance further the intensity of the operations against the Abu sayyaf Group, so that we will be able to eliminate this group the soonest time possible," Dolorfino said yesterday. Dolorfino assumed Thursday as the third commander of WesMil1- Com which was activated on Aug. 29, 2006. He replaced Lt. Gen. Nelson Allaga who stepped down upon his retirement. The new WesMinCom commander told his men that the offensive against the ASG, particularly in Sulu and Basilan, will be intelligence-driven and must be

precise in nature to avoid collateral damage and displacement of civilians.

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GMA names Sabban as new Marines Commandant

A6 Philippine Daily Inquirer Wednesday, July 15, 2009

By Tarra Quismundo
With a report from Julie S. Alipala, Inquirer Mindanao

PRESIDENT MACAPAGAL-Arroyo has chosen another "mistah" to lead a major military

command, appointing Maj. Gen. Juancho Sabban as commandant of the Philippine Marines.

Sabban, a member of Ms Arroyo's adoptive Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Class of

1978, headed Task Force Comet, the military's joint antiterrorism unit, based in Sulu. Sabban's appointment on Monday came two days after Italian aid worker Eugenio Vagni was released by Abu Sayyaf kidnappers. . Sabban will replace Maj. Gen. Benjamin Dolorfmo during a command turnover ceremony on Friday, according to Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner Jr., Armed Forces spokesperson. Dolorfino will take over the Western Mindanao Command (Wesmincom), one of the busiest military unified area commands because of their active campaigns against terrorism

and insurgency in Mindanao. Dolorfino will succeed Lt. Gen. Nelson Allaga, who will retire

tomorrow upon reaching the age of 56 years. Reached by the INQUIRER for comment· last night in Manila, Dolorfino, a two-star general, said in a text message that "there is no promotion or demotion in assignments.'! Dolorfino viewed his new post as a promotion since it was actually held by three-star generals. Being Wesmincom' chief is "better," he said, since he could perform as "ground operator," directly supervising his men. Sabban "is the most senior among the Marines for the position," Brawner Jr. said, explaining that deliberations wertt on long before Sabban succeeded in securing Vagni's release. Nominations went through the Armed Forces' Board of Generals, Department of National Offense and, finally, Malacañang, Brawner Jr. said.

Sabban, he said, was among those on the short list. "We're expecting that General Sabban can do a good job as commandant of the Philippine Marine Corps. He has done a good job as commander of Task Force Comet and, of course, our chief of staff, Gen. Victor Ibrado, has full trust and confidence in him," the military spokesperson said. Sabban was known to have taken part in the December 1989 coup attempt against then President Corazon Aquino, alongside his mistah, Army Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim, as members of the Young Officers' Union. Lim is now detained on rebellion charges. But the military believes in second chances, Brawner Jr. said. "Everybody is given another chance ... There might have been instances in his career where he might have gone against military rules and regulations, but everybody's given an equal chance to prove himself." In May, one of Ms Arroyo's most favorite generals, Lt. Gen. Delfin Bangit, became chief of the Philippine Army, the largest military service command. The assignment was widely believed to be preposturing for his eventual ascent to the military helm by election season

next year.

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Sabban,PMA'78, named Marines chief

Malaya Wednesday, July 15, 2009 A1

• BY VICTOR REYES

PRESIDENT Arroyo has appointed Maj. Gcn, Juancho Sabban, the commander of the military's Joint Task Force Comet, as commandant of the Marine Corps. Sabban will assume his position on Friday, replacing Maj. Gen. Ben Dolorfino who will take over the Western Mindanao Command on Thursday. Dolorflno will succeed Lt. Gen. Nelson Allaga who is retiring. AFP public affairs office chief Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner said Sabban's replacement has not been decided. He said three officers were recommended, including Marines vice commander Brig. Gen. Natalio Encanna. Told that Sabban has a history of military adventurism (he took part in 1989 coup attempt), Brawner said: "There might have been instances in his career where he went against the rules and regulations ...but everybody is given the chance to prove himself."

Sabban belongs to Philippine Military Academy Class '78 where the President is an honorary member. Task Force Comet was instrumental in the recovery of Italian Eugenio Vagni, a worker of the International Committee of the Red Cross, who was released by his Abu Sayyaf captors Sunday dawn. Sabban was among many military officers who launched the December 1989 coup which was thwarted by the intervention of the United States. Among those who also took part in the coup were former First Scout Ranger Regiment chief Brig. Gen. Danilo Urn and Marine Co\. Ariel Querubin. Both are under detention, facing court, martial for involvement in the failed attempt to overthrow the government in February 2006

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Sabban to head Marines

A2 WEDNESDAY July 15, 2009
By: Florante S. Solerin and Joyce Pañares

AN OFFICER who joined the bloodiest coup attempt against President Corazon Aquino in

1989 has been named the new commandant of the Marines. Maj. Gen. Juancho Sabban, outgoing Task Force Comet commander, assumes his new position on Friday, replacing Maj. Gen. Benjamin Dolorfino, the incoming head of the Western Mindanao Command whose leader, Lt. Gen. Nelson Allaga, is retiring on Thursday. Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said President Arroyo signed Sabban's appointment Monday night. Sabban graduated from the Philippine Military Academy in 1978, and Dolorfino in 1976. President Arroyo has also appointed Manila Regional Trial Court judge Manuel Barrios as associate justice of the Court of Appeals. Barrios was among the judges nominated by the Supreme Court's Judicial and Bar Council to fill the vacancies in the appellate court. Sabban's appointment came in the wake of the release of Italian Red Cross worker Eugenio Vagni, who was freed by the Abu Sayyaf in Sulu on Sunday. Vagni was kidnapped along with two other Red Cross workers in January, but his co-workers were released in April. Sabban's Comet was tasked to go after the AI Qaida-linked Abu bandits operating in Sulu and Basilan. The military could not immediately give a shortlist of candidates for Sabban's successor.

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