PHOTO by NOY MORCOSO/INQUIRER.net
LUCENA CITY – With the heroic death of 44 police commandos in the performance of their duty in Maguindanao last week, Lucena Bishop Emilio Marquez called on the public to restore their faith and respect in policemen.
Marquez said the heroic death of the 44 members of the Special Action Force, an elite fighting force of the Philippine National Police, has once more showed the inherent danger of the peace-keeping task of lawmen in uniform.
“We should all respect the police. Ang isang paa nila ay palaging nasa hukay (Their other foot is always inside a grave). They are ready to offer their lives in the performance of their duty,” Marquez said in his homily during his Sunday Mass at the Saint Ferdinand Cathedral here.
The prelate said the archetypal public-image of policemen as corrupt and rotten should not be the basis of their true worth as public servant.
He said the haunting bad image is unfair to most policemen, particularly for the members of SAF 44 who were killed in the bloody battle with rouge elements of Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and jihadist Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF).
“The SAF 44 all died for the sake of peace for the Filipino people,” Marquez said.
Marquez offered the Mass specifically for the victims of SAF 44 and their bereaved families. Uniformed policemen led by Senior Supt. Ronaldo Genaro Ylagan, Quezon police chief, occupied several pews. Some of the policemen, several of whom attended the Mass with their families, were seen almost in tears as the bishop was delivering his homily.
“The bishop’s message is truly heartwarming. There are only few rotten cops in the ranks. Most of them are dedicated lawmen,” a teary-eyed wife of a local policeman said after the Mass.
After the Mass, Marquez invited the policemen to have a picture taken with him at the altar.
Close to 400 members of the PNP-SAF were dispatched in Mamasapano, Maguindanao to arrest two international terrorists, Malaysian Zulkifli bin Hir, alias “Marwan,” and his Filipino protégée Abdul Basit Usman.
But during their retreat, the government forces were ambushed by combined MILF guerrillas and BIFF fighters, who were believed coddling the two terrorist bombers.
The PNP-SAF suffered 44 casualties during the lopsided long battle. Some of the commandos also sustained injuries.
The Muslim warriors also suffered numerous casualties, according to reports.
Meanwhile, in Laguna, the local chapter of the Knights of Columbus (KoC) in San Pedro City also offered a Mass in solidarity with the 44 fallen SAF commandos.
Grand Knight Resty Ramos of San Lorenzo Parish in San Pedro City said their group also passed a resolution condemning the carnage. The group would offer flowers and submit their resolution to the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) in Silang, Cavite today (Feb. 2). With a report from Romy O. Ponte, Inquirer Southern Luzon
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