Galvez to pursue peace in Mindanao despite looming retirement

FILE: AFP Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Carlito Galvez (Photo: PTV)

MANILA — Less than a month before his retirement from military service, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief-of-staff, Gen. Carlito Galvez, Jr. on Monday said he will dedicate the remainder of his life in pursuing peace in Mindanao.

“I will be retiring (within), I think (in) 22 days and I’m reassuring the MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front) that the AFP fully supports (the peace process) despite who will be the leader because the AFP is a very professional (organization) and in my capacity as (a) civilian individual, I have told them that I will dedicate most of my life in really finishing what I have started, it is for peace in Mindanao,” Galvez told reporters.

Incidentally, Galvez served as head of the AFP Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities before being appointed to other ranking positions in the military.

The AFP chief is a member of Philippine Military Academy Class of 1985 and will be stepping down on Dec. 12 after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 56.

“I already conveyed my interest with the OPAPP (Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process) and I told Secretary (Jesus) Dureza that can I be some sort of consultant, so he accepted my request,” he added.