BY GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Army Maj. Gen. Benedict Arevalo, 3rd Infantry Division commander, wants the new commander of 62nd Infantry Battalion in central Negros to adopt his mantra “Loved by the People, Feared by the Enemy”.
Arevalo installed Lt. Col. William Pesase on February 16 as the commanding officer of 62nd Infantry Battalion in Isabela, Negros Occidental, replacing Lt. Col. Melvin Flores, who had been its commander for almost two years.
If you are feared by the enemy and you are able to hit them, we will be more loved by the people, Arevalo told Pesase, who used to be the Assistant Chief of Staff for Personnel of 3ID.
On the other hand, Arevalo lauded Flores for the accomplishments of the 62IB under his stint, which he credited for the clearing of 37 insurgency-affected barangays in central Negros through the Community Support Operations (CSP), and successful Focused Military Operations, especially in Guihulngan City.
For his dynamic leadership, the 62IB was adjudged as the Best Battalion of 3ID in 2021, and was conferred with a Proficient Status with Gold Trailblazer Award in the Army Governance Pathway, for its demonstrated commitment to pursue genuine transformation and reforms as manifested by its exemplary progress in governance and strategy management.
Flores is up for assignment at the Philippine Army headquarters in the National Capital Region.
The change of 62IB leadership ceremony was also attended by La Castellana Mayor Alme Rhumyla Nicor-Mangilimutan, Isabela Mayor Irene Montilla, Brig. Gen. Inocencio Pasaporte, 303rd Infantry Brigade commander, PCol. Leo Pamittan, acting provincial police director of Negros Occidental, among other military officers and police chiefs in central Negros.*
