Marcos names Carlito Galvez as presidential peace adviser

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has appointed former Defense officer-in-charge Carlito Galvez Jr. as Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity.

Galvez held the same position during the Duterte administration and before he was appointed as OIC of the Department of National Defense.

The Presidential Communications Office on Monday said Isidro Purisima was also named as senior undersecretary of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity.

In a statement issued by the OPAPRU over the weekend, Galvez said he was told by the President that he was reappointed to help in pushing forward the Bangsamoro peace process because “this is where his heart is.”

Galvez acknowledged the remarkable economic progress in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao as he recommended the revival of what he described as “sealane of commerce” in the southern portion of the country.

Galvez served as Armed Forces chief under the Duterte administration.

He also served as commanding general of the Western Mindanao Command where he played a significant role in ending the five-month siege of Marawi City in 2017. He was even conferred with the Order of Lapu-Lapu (Kamagi Medal) for his "outstanding performance as the unified commander during the liberation of Marawi City."

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Galvez served as the country's vaccine czar and “chief implementer” of the government’s national policy against the disease. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News