DAVAO CITY, Philippines—The shadows of Moro rebels retrieving firearms, ammunition and armor were long and tilted at a particular angle while the sun was glaring not far from the horizon.
These were evident in the videos and photos that circulated on social networking sites showing the bodies of Philippine National Police Special Action Force (SAF) commandos sprawled in a cornfield in Mamasapano, Maguindanao province.
Army officials, who refused to be identified because of a lack of clearance to speak for the military, said the shadows and the position of the sun proved that the members of the 55th Special Action Company (SAC) had been wiped out, except for a lone survivor, before noon of Jan. 25.
Apparently, many of the members of the 55th SAC were already dead while the SAF, led by Director Getulio Napeñas, was requesting the 6th Infantry Division to send reinforcements. The military was very careful in heeding the request reportedly because of the lack of vital and tactical information provided by the PNP.
The 55th SAC, which served as a 36-man blocking force, engaged the heavily armed men in a gun battle around 5:20 a.m. just about 3 kilometers away from Barangay (village) Tukanalipao while waiting for the 84th SAC.
The 84th SAC was the primary striking force that neutralized Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir, alias “Marwan,” in a hut in Pidsandawan.
All the men of the 55th SAC died except for PO2 Christopher Lalan who was able to sneak through the heavy volume of fire and to reunite with the bulk of SAF commandos waiting at the highway.
Initial reports said the commando unit that took position in a cornfield was surrounded by members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) from different sides. The cornfield was cut by a river, making it very difficult for the police commandos to fight back and to maneuver.
Abu Misri Mama, spokesman of the BIFF, confirmed reports that the group was able to “wipe out” the 55th SAC as early as 8 a.m.
“The firefight started at dawn and it ended quickly at 8 in the morning because our fighters were already able to recover the firearms of the dead commandos by 9 a.m. And yes, the sun was not yet that high when the firefight with the 55th SAC ended,” Mama said.
The fighting that ensued later was already not with the 55th SAC but with the other SAF units and the reinforcements sent by the military, said the BIFF spokesman.
“The 55th SAC was done before lunch so the ensuing gun battles were with the other SAF (84th company) and the military,” Mama said.
The 84th SAC, which failed to meet with the embattled 55th SAC, clashed with rebels from the MILF, BIFF and members of private armed groups.
Carrying the finger of Marwan, the unit later merged with the 45th SAC. They were extracted from the area with the help of government soldiers around 5:30 p.m.
With this timeline, several sources questioned the statement of Napeñas that he believed that the 55th SAC commandos were still alive at noon before there was radio silence.
Sources also questioned the means of communication with radioman Senior Insp. Ryan Pabalinas when the equipment that the commandos were carrying were only two-way Motorola radios, which are very limited in terms of range, and mobile phones.