Ancan is new head of military’s Central Command

November 3, 2019

Major General Roberto Ancan assumed as the new head of the Cebu-based Central Command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) last Thursday

Capt. Jonathan Zata, AFP public affairs chief, said the change of command ceremony held at Camp Lapu-Lapu in Cebu City was presided by former Centcom commander and now Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff General Noel Clement.

During the ceremony, Ancan replaced Major Gen Dinoh Dolina who served as an acting commander of Centcom after Clement became AFP chief of staff.

In his remarks, Clement recognized the accomplishments of Ancan as the commander of the 1st Infantry Division.

“During his stint as the 1ID Commander, he has led his unit to several successes and among them were notable accomplishments on the neutralization of high valued individuals and clearing of several guerrilla fronts," Clement said. 

“Based on his long list of accomplishments of which I have personally witnessed we can deduce that Major Gen Ancan is indeed a fierce and both leader, the characteristic of leader that we are looking for to sustain and even intensify our efforts to enforce EO 70 and other initiatives of the command”, he said.

Zata said Ancan, a member of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Hinirang Class of 1987, is commander of the 1st Infantry Division in Labangan, Zamboanga Del Sur, a position he held since February 2019. 

"Prior to his present position, he was designated as Commander of the 1002nd Infantry Brigade and the Commanding Officer of the AFP Peacekeeping Operations Center that managed the organization, training, and deployment of AFP units to United Nations peacekeeping missions," he said.

"He was also the commander of the 25th Infantry Battalion, 72nd Infantry Battalion, and 66th Infantry Battalion and was posted as a UN Military Observer in Timor Leste," he added. Robina Asido/DMS