INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—Another Medal for Valor could be given to a soldier for the exceptional act of courage that he displayed during the Zamboanga siege in September, after the military’s highest combat award was given on Friday to the late Private First Class Ian Paquit.
The military is still evaluating the award, a thorough process that normally takes time.
Inquirer sources said the soldier rescued at least two hostages in Sta. Catalina village in the last days of the three-week siege where Moro rebels loyal to Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) Chair Nur Misuari tried to take over the Zamboanga City.
In rescuing the hostages, the soldier found himself in the line of enemy fire. He still got the hostages to safety.
Should the military deem the soldier’s act as worthy of the Armed Forces’ highest military award, the crisis would produce two Medal for Valor recipients, a rarity.
“The Zamboanga crisis was an incident where the challenge to our troops was to contain the threat and rescue the hostages. The soldiers had to contain the threat in an urban terrain and rescue nearly 200 hostages given the sheer number of the enemy,” Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala, public affairs chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) told the Inquirer by phone on Saturday.
Zagala said that considering the soldiers were able to rescue 195 hostages with minimal casualty was a feat in itself. The Zamboanga crisis saw the country’s first urban warfare.
Some 20 soldiers were killed in action, including Paquit who died on Sept. 24 after enemy fire hit him in the neck.
The awarding of the Medal for Valor to Paquit was the highlight of the low-key AFP Day celebration on Friday. The award was received by his father.
Over 2,000 soldiers received various awards for their participation in the Zamboanga crisis, one of the worst challenges the Aquino administration faced this year.
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