President keeps vigil with kin of Fallen 44 for hours
President Benigno S. Aquino III presents the “”Medalya ng Katapangan”” to the families of the fallen Philippine National Police-Special Action Force (PNP-SAF) Troopers during the Necrological Service at the NCRPO Multi-Purpose Center of Camp Bagong Diwa in Bicutan, Taguig City on Friday. GIL NARTEA/Malacañang Photo Bureau
MANILA, Philippines—Long after the necrological services for the 44 elite police troops who were killed in a massacre by Moro rebels last Sunday, President Benigno Aquino III remained at Camp Bagong Diwa until late Friday night, meeting and talking with every family of the fallen commandos.
At press time close to 10 p.m., he was still holding private meetings. (He left way past midnight)
Mr. Aquino was closeted at the camp’s St. Joseph Chapel because he wanted to meet privately with the attending family members of each of the victims, said Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr.
The President started the private meetings after the service ended after noon and had met only half at 8 p.m., “about 15 families more to go,” Coloma added.
The President, who earlier declared Friday a national day of mourning for the Special Action Force (SAF) men who were killed in Mamasapano town, Maguindanao province, led the necrological rites yesterday at Camp Bagong Diwa, the SAF headquarters, where the remains of the slain troopers were laid out at the camp’s gymnasium.
“I feel your pain,” Mr. Aquino told the weeping widows, parents and children of the police commandos.
“I pledge to bring justice to all those who were killed,” said the President, vowing to capture Basit Usman, a commander of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), one of the two targets of the SAF involved in last Sunday’s bloody clash.
An awkward silence, broken only by the sound of infants crying, filled the cramped gymnasium as the President personally offered his condolences to the victims for the first time since the massacre, praying briefly before each white casket.
In an emotional service replete with poignant images, the grieving widows, the President, and the acting SAF commander paid tribute to the commandos who were killed by rebels of the BIFF and the secessionist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)—with which the government signed a peace agreement last year—while on a mission to catch or kill Malaysian bomb-maker Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan and Usman.
Marwan was reported killed by a small SAF assault force that crept up to his hut before dawn.
“Is it worth it? [Is] one international terrorist equivalent to 44 Special Action Force troopers. I’m sure, if you will ask them, it is worth it,” the SAF officer in charge, Chief Supt. Noli Taliño, said in his emotion-choked eulogy, gesturing in the direction of the row of coffins. (More excerpts of his remarks on Page A1).
As the victims’ kin quietly grieved in the presence of the President, former President Fidel V. Ramos, Cabinet officials, senators and congressional representatives all voiced a common cry for justice.
Cry for justice
Standing before the rows of flag-draped white caskets, Erica Pabalinas, the widow of slain Police Insp. Ryan Pabalinas, said, her voice breaking: “All I ask right now is justice, not only for my husband, who was brutally killed, but for everyone who fought and fell.”
Tearfully, she turned to the President and said: “Our President, we seek your help to attain justice. Mr. President, please help us.”
Police officers and personnel could be seen wiping away tears. Mr. Aquino drank from a bottle of mineral water.
In his eulogy, Mr. Aquino assured the commandos’ families that the board of inquiry had been formed by the PNP to “uncover the truth” behind the bloody encounter and “determine those responsible.”
“We do not want a repeat of incidents like this. As President, even if I want to be angry, I cannot allow myself to be carried away by my emotions. Rash decision-making has no place in these situations,” he said.
“If I were to let my anger dictate my actions, then perhaps instead of resolving the problem, I would only exacerbate it. We will do our utmost to gain justice for all those who perished and for the loved ones they left behind,” he added.
No. 1 priority
“Now, be assured that the second target that eluded us will be captured. You know this: I am a man of my word. Capturing Basit Usman is No. 1 on our list of priorities,” he said.
“I have ordered the authorities to formulate a more effective plan to hunt down and apprehend this criminal. Your government is already working towards this end; in fact, even before speaking to you, we were already taking steps to meet this objective. We will prove that the law truly prevails in the Philippines. I assure you, we will get Usman,” he added.
As soon as he arrived at Camp Bagong Diwa at around 10 a.m., Mr. Aquino headed straight for the row of caskets to condole with the relatives, accompanied by Interior Secretary Mar Roxas and acting PNP Chief Deputy Director General Leonardo Espina.
For the next 40 minutes, he walked from one coffin to another, briefly chatting with the widows—some of whom were pregnant and others cradling toddlers—parents and siblings of the slain commandos, and presenting them with a posthumous “Medalya ng Katapangan (Medal of Bravery).”
Awkward moments
Television cameras caught a rather awkward moment when three widows were seemingly unprepared to accept the medal, prompting Mr. Aquino to hand them to some other relatives.
The widows later explained to reporters that they had no intention of snubbing or disrespecting the President. They were overwhelmed with grief, and weren’t conscious of what was taking place, they said.
In his emotional tribute, during which he broke down three times, Taliño said the slain SAF commandos were the same ones who fought the followers of disgruntled Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) leader Nur Misuari that laid siege to Zamboanga City in September 2013. They were a “big loss” to the national police, he said.
The President pledged financial assistance to the families of the slain commandos, even as he appealed to the private sector and other Filipinos to “join the government” in recognizing their heroism.
“Let me also assure you: We will exert every effort to lessen your worries and doubts about the future. We will provide for your needs, in accordance with all laws and regulations. We will do everything in our power to help each family of our fallen heroes in the police,” he said.
According to Coloma, the package of benefits for the families includes lifetime pension, gratuity equivalent to one year salary, additional pension for the next five years, Pag-IBIG Fund death benefits, insurance benefits, and commutation of leaves.
A minimum P800,000 cash will be given each family, excluding monthly pension benefits. The widows, siblings and parents will receive employment and livelihood assistance, while the children will get scholarships, he said.
Mr. Aquino told the relatives that flags were flown at half-staff in all police and military camps, and in government offices in recognition of their heroism.
Nation owes them
“Your husbands, brothers, and sons, whom we honor today, are heroes. Our nation owes them a great debt of gratitude. They sacrificed their lives, to bring peace and order to the lives of the vast majority,” he said.
Flying the flags at half-staff was “a sign of our grief, a grief not only from their families and friends, but the grief of an entire nation,” he said.
“This is a sign that they lived and they died, not for themselves, but for their country,” he added.
“In the name of the Filipino people, we recognize the valor of our fallen policemen. We thank them for the courage of their sacrifice. We condole and grieve with each family who has lost a loved one,” he said.
No greater love
The President began his eulogy by saying that having lost a father, too, he knew how the relatives felt, but admitted he could not give answers to their questions.
“I wish to tell you, the families of our policemen who fell during Sunday’s encounter, that I genuinely understand how you feel. I, too, lost a loved one in a sudden manner,” he said, recalling the 1983 assassination of his father, the martyred opposition leader Benigno Aquino Jr.
His father’s death also turned his world upside down, Mr. Aquino said.
Then he shared a reading from John 15:13: “There is no greater love than that of giving one’s life for his fellowman.”
“This is why we will not allow the ultimate sacrifice paid by our heroes in the police to go to waste. Should their deaths lead to realizing the peace we all desire, then we would be able to say that their sacrifice was not in vain. This true, lasting change would become their legacy for the entire Filipino nation,” he said.
Thirteen survivors in the bloody encounter in Mamasapano, Maguindanao are set to be treated at the PNP General Hospital.
PNP spokesperson Chief Supt. Generoso Cerbo confirmed this, saying the hospital was waiting to accept the survivors as patients.
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