DAVAO CITY – It was the 10th night of the all-out offensive in Maguindanao and Corporal Daniel Pajarilla and his unit were in a defensive position at a tactical command post in the village of Madia in Datu Saudi Ampatuan town.
Gun bursts can be heard not far from their position and every one of them was sweating both from the heat and the tense situation.
When a loud explosion took place, Pajarilla immediately jumped and crawled under an M35 military truck for cover.
Like the rest of his team, Pajarilla tried to maneuver to suppress the attacking members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) but his body refused to cooperate.
A sharp and burning pain at his belly and leg stopped him from further moving, Pajarilla narrated.
Because of the pain, Pajarilla started shouting for help as he bled.
Two others were wounded that day, including a junior officer, who was hit by an explosive while opening the hatch of his armored vehicle.
While being rushed in an ambulance, Pajarilla had one thing in mind: “I need to be alive for my daughter who has a rare blood condition.”
Quincy, the bright-eyed 6-year-old daughter of Pajarilla, is diagnosed with an Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP) three years ago.
ITP is a rare condition characterized by a low platelet count resulting in bruising and bleeding.
For quite some time, the cause of ITP has been a mystery but recent studies point to autoimmune mechanisms made antibodies target a sufferer’s platelets.
Despite her condition, Quincy proved to excel in class – even earning the top spot in her Grade 1 class while at the same time getting the Best in English, Best in Math and Best in Science awards at a school in the town of Lebak in Sultan Kudarat.
Quincy and her mother, Mary Lanie, immediately traveled to the military medical facility at the headquarters of the 6th Infantry Division in Datu Odin Sinsuat after they were informed about the incident involving Pajarilla.
Seeing his father painfully writhing at a hospital bed inside the military camp, the little girl quickly jumped over and hugged him in an apparent effort to comfort him.
The next day, March 7, Pajarilla was airlifted to the V Luna Medical Center in Manila for better medical attention.
With Pajarilla in Manila, Quincy and her mother are left worrying what will happen as they face a state of uncertainty.
Several soldiers said they knew that the job has so much risk. It’s as if one of their legs had already been buried.
But then, their complaint was the seemingly uneven treatment that soldiers killed or wounded in action receive compared to those of the 44 members of the police’s Special Action Force killed in Mamasapano town on January 25.
While six soldiers had been killed, including an Army Scout Ranger captain, and at least 31 others were injured in the Maguindanao operation that started on February 25, there had been no hashtags for them and media coverage was not that extensive.
“As to the overwhelming support to the SAF vs AFP troops, we will die silently because we believe this is all but part and parcel of our job. A number of soldiers have already died in many parts of the country since the Mamasapano incident happened but none of the families spoke ill of the support given to them,” a military official said.
The military official cited Pajarilla’s situation which also needed support.
“They had been struggling financially since then, reaching the point of loaning the entire salary of her husband just to be able to support and find a cure for Quincy. They had asked for help from the Battalion of Quincy’s father as well as solicited money from their neighbors and friends in order to support the financial requirement just to keep Quincy alive,” the military official said.
Quincy is set for another checkup in Davao City by the end of March but her mother will be flying to Manila to take care of Pajarilla.
The case of soldiers not receiving the same magnitude of attention as given to the so-called Fallen 44 was not isolated.
It was also true in the case of Corporal Lonell Baustista and Private First Class Ervin Roquero, who died fighting the Abu Sayyaf in Patikul, Sulu on February 25.
Margie, Roquero’s eldest sister, said he was the family’s breadwinner.
Roquero, the third among the 9 siblings, also helped send his four younger siblings to school.
“All we ask from the government is to help us, we are all farmers here, my parents are farmers,” Margie said.
Rear Admiral Reynaldo Yoma, commander of the Joint Task Force Zambasulta (Zambonga-Basilan-Sulu and Tawi-Tawi) said the families of the two fallen soldiers will receive the standard assistance provided by the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
“We do have standard assistance but sometimes. What I can’t say is if their families get assistance such as those given to SAF members killed in Mamasapano,” Yoma said.
RELATED STORIES
Wife of elite Army officer killed in fight vs BIFF had ‘premonition’
Elite Army officer, 3 soldiers killed in clash with BIFF