Slain SAF officer had been studying to be lawyer, says family

MANILA, Philippines—Police Officer 3 Rodrigo Acob Jr., one of the policemen killed in the disastrous operation in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, was eager to learn and get new experiences from his job, thus readily accepting an assignment in Mindanao.

“He had too many ambitions. I once joked maybe you wanted to be president of the Philippines,” Leonor, Acob’s elder sister, said in an interview at St. Peter’s funeral home in Quezon City.

Leonor said her brother, in between duties in Zamboaga, had been attending law classes at a state university since 2012.

“He was not able to save a lot for himself and his family because he kept on studying,” she said.

Before Acob was assigned in Zamboanga City in 2010, he was taking his Master of Arts in Criminology.

“But he did not finish it because he had to move to Mindanao,” she said.

Acob’s family traveled all the way from Aurora in Isabela province to bring the remains of the 34-year-old policeman home.

All his dreams—to be a teacher and to get a promotion in the police—had died with him, Leonor said.

“After his law degree, he was hoping to take a teaching job while serving in the PNP,” his sister said.

His wife, however, never approved his assignment in Mindanao. “But he was insistent, he wanted to get enough police experience,” she said.

The last time she had a contact with her husband was on Saturday, a day before the deadly gun battle with the members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

“Baka may lakad kami. Ingat kayo ng mga anak natin. Mahal ko kayo (We might be out for an assignment. Take good care of yourself and our kids. I love you all),” Haslyn said quoting what her husband said during a phone call.

Acob and Haslyn have two children, the youngest is a 3-year-old girl.

She described her husband a week before what she called a “massacre,” as “unusually happy.”

“He kept on calling me and he sounded happy,” Haslyn said.

While she and her eldest child have accepted Acob’s death, it has been painfully difficult to deal with their 3-year-old daughter.

“She liked to ask me often: ‘Mama, pupunta tayo sa Jollibee? (Mama, are we going to Jollibee?)’ My usual answer was ‘Yes, once Papa is here,’” she said.

“Now, it is impossible for me to give her that answer,” she said.

She said she had to immediately tell her the truth, that her father “is now with Lord God in heaven.”

Haslyn’s wish for the government was not to let them down. “They should help us keep our children in school. I wish they can give the wives jobs now that our husbands are gone.”

“We want justice. What happened to them was unacceptable. I could no longer recognize him now after what they have done to him,” she said.