Patikul (outlined in red) in Sulu (Image from Google Maps)
Updated @ 1:10 a.m., Feb. 6, 2019
ZAMBOANGA CITY — Roberto Lubiano tried to control his tears as he looked at the coffin of his fifth son, Ranger Staff Sgt. Jerry Lubiano.
The fallen soldier’s face was beyond recognition, his arms and legs covered with packing tape to hold the flesh together.
“My son died a hero, but he died with so much pain. He was brutally hacked,” Roberto said.
“This is the work of an animal,” he added.
The remains of three other Rangers and their commanding officer, Lt. Randy Tanghal, also showed signs of mutilation, although the military has been tight-lipped on how the five died in a clash with Abu Sayyaf in Patikul, Sulu province.
The bodies of Tanghal, Lubiano, Cpl. Oliver Aquino, Cpl. Reggie Draug and Pfc. John Paul Pascua lie at the La Naval Chapel of the Naval Forces Western Mindanao.
Roberto’s son was a hero of Marawi and had been awarded by President Rodrigo Duterte with P100,000 in cash, a .45-caliber pistol, and a watch, he said.
Jerry was his family’s breadwinner, he added.
On Monday, the President met with spouses and parents of the soldiers killed in the two explosions that ripped through a Jolo cathedral on Jan. 27, and gave them the Presidential Special Financial Assistance worth P500,000, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said.
The President extended the same financial aid to relatives of a soldier killed in a clash with Abu Sayyaf in Patikul, Sulu, days ago during a manhunt for the Jolo bombers, Lorenzana said.
Lorenzana added that the Armed Forces of the Philippines also gave the bereaved families P280,000 to P400,000 each, depending on the slain soldier’s rank.
“These are over and above their monthly pension,” he added. /gsg /pdi