Like Trillanes, slain Marine wanted to become a senator, says sister

2nd Lt. Alfredo Lorin VI, the leader of the ill-fated team from the Marine Force Reconnaissance Battalion, with his sister Rosalyn during his graduation at the Philippine Military Academy in 2011. PHOTO FROM ROSALYN LORIN’S FACEBOOK ACCOUNT

Rosalyn Lorin was not too sure if her brother, a Marine lieutenant who died with six other soldiers in Saturday’s encounter with Abu Sayyaf bandits in Patikul, Sulu, was joking, but she said he had told her he wanted to be a senator one day.

2nd Lt. Alfredo Lorin VI, the leader of the ill-fated team from the Marine Force Reconnaissance Battalion, had also looked forward to collecting combat awards, she said.

“While our family understands that this may happen to him anytime, it came just too soon. He’s too young,” Lorin told reporters at the wake for her 26-year-old brother, a 2011 graduate of the Philippine Military Academy, and the other fallen Marines at their headquarters in Fort Bonifacio.

“He had many dreams. Aside from getting promotions, he also joked that he wanted to be a senator someday,” she said. He talked about Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV.

“I don’t know if he was really serious but he always brought that up whenever we talked,” she said. “He died with bravery so we will [accept his death] with bravery. He’s our inspiration and we will always remember his courage.”

Trillanes, then a Navy lieutenant senior grade, led disgruntled soldiers in occupying a posh hotel in Makati City to expose the alleged systemic corruption in the Armed Forces of the Philippines in 2003.

While spending time in prison, he ran and won as senator in 2007. He again won a fresh six-year term in the recent May 13 elections.

Super-gentleman

Lorin said her brother had reminded the family to wait for his return from Sulu next month and prepare for his graduation from the training course of the Marine reconnaissance team.

“He was a very responsible son and brother. He was also a super-gentleman. He was my defender every time I faced difficulties in life,” she said. “He would call or send us messages whenever possible. He always sent us ‘good morning’ messages and biblical passages.”

The last time she talked to him over the phone early this month, she said he reminded her he would return home to the family in Iriga, Camarines Sur province, at the end of his training. A day before the clash, Lorin said he sent her a text message to greet her good morning.

“He fulfilled his promise to return. He’s now with us. But he returned earlier than June,” Lorin said, holding back tears.

“Every time we fetched him from the airport, he would always ask us how we were while he was away. When we fetched him [on Sunday], we did not hear even a single word from him. It was very different from what we were used to.”

Sad memories

Gen. Emmanuel Bautista, the AFP chief of staff, went to the wake at the Marine headquarters on Monday to pay his last respects to the slain soldiers.

Bautista said that seeing flag-draped caskets brought back bitter memories of the tragedy that befell his father, Brig. Gen. Teodulfo Bautista, who was murdered with 33 other military officers by the Moro National Liberation Front on Oct. 10, 1977, also in Patikul.

“I know personally how it feels. I am here to condole with the families not only as AFP chief of staff but on a personal basis, having gone through that,” he said. “It’s a sad experience but I’m sure the families will live through that and will come out stronger.”