Marcos calls for ‘kinder, gentler society’ to honor SAF44

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. calls for  “a kinder and gentler society” as he led the remembrance ceremony for the fallen 44 Special Action Force commandos or SAF44 in Silang, Cavite, on Thursday, January 25, 2024. Photo grab from RTV Malacañang.

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Thursday urged Filipinos to honor the 44 Special Action Force (SAF) commandos by helping create “a kinder, and gentler society.”

Marcos led the National Remembrance of the Heroic Sacrifice of SAF44 in Silang, Cavite. Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos and Philippine National Police Chief Gen. Benjamin Acorda Jr joined him.

“How do we pay homage to these brave men whose gallantry no memorial could fully capture? Whose courage no words can fully extol? It is by working tirelessly to realize their dreams for their family, for their children, for their comrades, for the people,” he said in a speech.

“It is now up to us who live, who benefited from the full measure of their full devotion to duty to build a kinder and gentler society wherein those they left behind could live in peace and prosperity,” he said.

During the event, Marcos, Abalos, and Acorda offered flowers to the monument of the fallen commandos.

In January 2015, police forces launched a mission to capture or kill Malaysian terrorist and bomb-maker Zulkifli Abdhir in Mamasapano, Maguindanao.

READ: SAF 44 and ‘Oplan Exodus’ in Mamasapano, Maguindanao

However, the situation turned dire, ending in a deadly shootout, which killed the 44 SAF commandos, at least 18 Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels, and seven civilians.

“Nine years ago, 44 brave men died without seeing the dawn of peace bloom on the land their blood made hallow. Today, we remember their heroism and honor the sacrifice they have made,” said Marcos.

In December 2023, the Palace renamed the 504th Maneuver Company Regional Mobile Force Battalion 5 to Camp Police Max Jim Ramirez Tria, one of the SAF44 members.