Mamasapano clash: Man in handcuffs attends burial

By: Carmel Loise Matus - 10 years ago

PO1 Romeo Cempron file photos

CONSOLACION, Cebu—All eyes were on the man who wore an orange shirt and orange pants as he arrived at the parish pastoral center of St. Joseph’s Parish Church on Sunday.

Both of his hands cuffed, the 37-year-old Brecio Cempron Jr. burst into tears when he saw the body of his youngest brother, PO1 Romeo Cempron, in a coffin.

Romeo was one of the 44 members of the Special Action Force (SAF) killed in a police operation in Mamasapano town, Maguindanao province.

Brecio heard of Romeo’s death in a news report on television. Brecio has spent almost nine years at the Cebu provincial jail after he was charged with homicide in 2006.

He was escorted by two guards when he arrived at the parish pastoral center.

“I call on the President to give justice for the death of my brother. I also ask him to give justice for the other members of the SAF who died to ease their pain,” he said.

Brecio was among the 1,000 inmates at the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (PDRC) who shaved their heads to appeal for justice.

‘SAF growl’

Brecio wore a black shirt with the face of Romeo printed on it. It bore the words, “Justice for a fallen SAF-Commando. You will always be remembered.”

Romeo was laid to rest at the Tayud municipal cemetery. Eight policemen formerly assigned with the SAF carried his coffin to the cemetery after a requiem Mass.

Shouts by senior SAF members—called the “SAF growl,” the group’s battle cry—broke the silence of the funeral.

Officials from the Police Regional Office (PRO-7) attended the funeral. They included Chief Supt. Prudencio Bañas; Senior Supt. Conrad Capa, deputy regional director for operations; Supt. Rex Derilo, deputy chief of the regional special operations group; and Senior Supt. Noel Gillamac, head of the Cebu police office.

‘Proud of you’

While his coffin passed by, other policemen and criminology students from the University of Cebu (UC) gave their salute. Romeo was a criminology graduate of UC.

Relatives and classmates of Romeo from Tayud National High School batch 99 filled the church during the Mass. Relatives wore white shirts with the face of Romeo printed in front and the words “#Fallen44, Heroes of Today” on the back.

“TNHS Batch ’99 is proud of you!” said a sign printed on the shirts of Romeo’s classmates.

Fr. Ricardo Cañete, the parish priest, led the Mass together with the PRO-7 chaplain, Supt. Arnulfo Castillo, and two other priests.

Coming home safe

In his homily, Castillo said the acronym of the Philippine National Police meant “prayer and peace” and “passion and performance.”

“I saw how rigorous their training was,” Cañete said of the training the SAF members underwent at the SAF school in Laguna. “They knew how their life would be,” he said.

“The members of the police force are very prayerful. They ask for God’s guidance so that they may come home safe and in one piece to their families,” he added.

“Our SAF troopers are passionate that peace will always be at our side,” Cañete also said.

Romeo’s advice

During Mass, Bañas and Romeo’s widow Christine gave their eulogies.

“They are special not only because of the way they died but the way they lived,” Bañas said. “We in the PNP will never forget the sacrifice of our 44 Fallen Hero.”

Christine said that after she learned of her husband’s death, she wanted to think it was all a bad dream.

“I appeal for justice for them,” she said.

Christine said Romeo had taught her not to harbor anger against those who wronged them.

“I’m trying so hard because that’s not easy … We’ll just pray for them. Please pray for me too because if I will not be at peace, my husband will not be at peace,” she said.

Capa reiterated the calls for justice for those killed.

“We will let the investigating bodies find out the truth. Someone has to be responsible for this,” Capa said.