Former President Fidel V. Ramos has lauded President Rodrigo R. Duterte for appointing Lt. Gen. Cirilito E. Sobejana as the new commanding general of the Western Mindanao Command, citing the army officer’s credentials as a battle-tested officer whom he awarded the Medal of Valor in 1996.
The Medal of Valor is the highest award of the Armed Forces of the Philippines given to a soldier for gallantry in combat.
President Duterte promoted Sobejana as Westmincom commander last week.
Sobejana was formerly commander of the 6th Division of the Philippine Army based in Central Mindanao.
Sobejana made a courtesy call on Ramos at the latter’s Ramos Peace and Development Foundation Inc. office in Makati City on Tuesday, to thank the former Commander-in-Chief, who pinned the Medal of Valor during the 61st AFP anniversary held in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City on Dec. 21, 1996.
Ramos, or FVR as he is fondly called, vividly remembered the day he pinned the medal on Sobejana, who was then an army captain at that time.
“You are a hero,” Ramos told Sobejana, who now holds the rank of lieutenant general.
