Roy Galido

Roy Mabagos Galido
Roy Mabagos Galido
Birth name	Roy Mabagos Galido
Allegiance	Philippines
Branch	Philippine Army
Years of service	1990–present
Rank	Lieutenant General
Commands	Commanding General of the Philippine Army; Western Mindanao Command; 6th Infantry Division; Joint Task Force Central ; 601st Infantry Brigade; The Inspector General, Philippine Army; 40th Infantry Battalion; 38th Infantry Battalion
Battles / wars	Communist armed conflicts in the Philippines; Moro conflict
Alma mater	Philippine Military Academy (BS)
Spouse(s)	Rina Galido
Children	2 sons

Roy Mabagos Galido is a Philippine Army officer who serves as the Commanding General of the Philippine Army since 7 August 2023. Prior to his appointment, Galido's previous commands include the Western Mindanao Command, the 6th Infantry Division and the 601st Infantry Brigade.^[1]

Early life and education

Galido was born to a military family. His father, retired brigadier general Alejandro Galido, was born in Sebaste, Antique on 12 July 1936 and was a graduate of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) class of 1958. Alejandro was later involved in the December 1989 coup against President Corazon Aquino before resigning afterwards as the former commander of the AFP Southern Luzon Command for his involvement in intelligence operations in the coup attempts.^[2]^[3]

Galido entered the PMA with the influence of his father in 1986 and graduated as part of the "Bigkis Lahi" Class of 1990. Galido later completed various courses locally and abroad, such as the AFP Command & General Staff Course, the Scout Ranger Qualification Course, the Basic Airborne Course, and the Special Forces Combat Qualification Course.^[4] Galido is also known to be a accomplished scholar and also holds a Master's Degree in Management, a Master of Science in Information Technology and a Masters in Public Management.^[5]

Military career

After his graduation in the PMA in 1990, Galido got his first deployment as a second lieutenant in Mindanao where he served as a commander of various units under the 6th Infantry Division. Galido also served as the chief of the AFP Systems Engineering Office, commander of the Joint Task Force Tugis, and was eventually named as the commander of the 38th Infantry Battalion and the 40th Infantry Battalion. Galido eventually served as the commander of the 601st Infantry Brigade and was later named as the acting chief of staff of the Philippine Army. Galido was later named as the before serving as the Vice Commander of the Army before being named as the Army Inspector General. On 4 August 2022, Galido was named as the commander of the 6th Infantry Division, where he replaced Major General Roberto Capulong.^[6]^[7]

During his stint as division commander of the 6th Infantry Division, Galido subsequently served as the commander of the Joint Task Force Central, where he initiated operations against communist insurgents within Western Mindanao.^[8] On 20 January 2023, Galido was named as the commander of the AFP Western Mindanao Command (WESMINCOM), and replaced Lieutenant General Alfredo Rosario Jr. During his term as WESMINCOM Commander, Galido led operations against the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) and other related terrorist networks, as well as the recovery of various improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and enhanced engagements with stakeholders for peace development initiatives.^[9] Galido also led the rescue various hostages from the ASG, which included the rescue mission on Ahmad Ibrahim Rullie, the son of the Indonesian couple Rullie Rian Zeke and Ulfa Handayani Saleh, who led the 2019 Jolo Cathedral bombings,^[10] and also launched a raid which led to the death of Faharudin Hadji Satar, who is also known as Abu Zacharia, the leader (emir) of the Daulah Islamiyah-Maute Group, in the outskirts if Marawi in June 2023.^[11]

On 7 August 2023, Galido was named as the Commanding General of the Philippine Army, and replaced General Romeo Brawner Jr., who was named as the AFP Chief of Staff. During his assumption speech, Galido created his leadership thrust named "ARMY", which stands for Always pray to seek divine guidance in their daily activities; be Reliable, Responsive, Relevant to address the needs of the nation; be Mission-oriented in utilizing every resource, effort, and sacrifice to boost Morale; and Yield personal interests and comforts for unity, the Army, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and the nation.^[12] Galido also vowed to continue peace initiatives in Mindanao and enhance the Army's modernization programs, as well as to emphasize the need for creating skilled soldiers beyond its usage in warfare to other skills for community development.^[13] ^[14]^[15] ^[16] ^[17] Galido also initiated a comprehensive command guidance towards the creation of various innovative measures towards both internal and external operations.^[18]