2 generals seek probe of Basilan carnage

FATHER’S LOVE Ruben Monte with the coffin of his son, Pfc. John Monte of Salong, Baroi, Lanao del Norte province, one of the 18 soldiers killed in Basilan province. JULIE S. ALIPALA/INQUIRER MINDANAO

FAMILIES of the 18 slain soldiers seeking justice and asking for details on how they died were told not to talk to journalists even as two generals demanded a military investigation into the carnage, the Inquirer learned Monday.

Military authorities declined to discuss with reporters details of the 10-hour encounter with Abu Sayyaf bandits in Tipo-Tipo on Basilan on Saturday in which 52 other soldiers were wounded.

“We want justice. It is difficult for us to speak right now, but we have many questions on our minds. Right now, all I can say is we want justice,” said

Lady Labial, wife of slain Cpl. Dionesio Labial from Sirawai, Zamboanga del Norte.

“I have lost my voice from crying,” said Inday Monte, whose eldest son, Pfc. John Monte  died in the worst incident to hit the security services since 44 Special Action Force troopers were massacred in Mamasapano, Maguindanao province, on Jan. 25 last year.

Monte and her husband Ruben traveled from Baroy in Lanao del Norte, 12 hours away over land, to find out what had happened in Tipo-Tipo. “There were so many deaths. I came here to see so many deaths.”

Inday said as she tried to control her emotions so as not to get the attention of the soldiers watching them at St. Peter Funeral Home in Zamboanga City, where eight of the dead remained as of Monday. She said they were not allowed to speak to journalists.

“This is my first time to set foot in Zamboanga. First and maybe last. I am here to bring my son back home,” she said.

13 Abu Sayyaf men killed

Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla, spokesperson of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, said troops had killed 13 Abu Sayyaf bandits in military operations in the same area in Tipo-Tipo where 150 of the insurgents sprang the ambush on the soldiers, most of them belonging to the 44th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army, on Saturday.

“We have not stopped in our operations to pursue the Abu Sayyaf,” Padilla said in a news briefing at the AFP headquarters. He said the offensive started on Sunday morning.

Padilla announced that flags in all military camps would be flown at half-mast for a week “to mourn the deaths of our soldiers, our heroes who offered the ultimate sacrifice.”

On Sunday, AFP chief of staff Gen. Hernando Iriberri, Army chief Lt. Gen. Eduardo Año and Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin flew to Zamboanga City to visit the wounded and condole with the families of the dead, who were all from Mindanao, except for one whose body was flown to Isabela province Monday.

The Philippine National Police issued a statement expressing condolences and honoring “true heroes who offered the supreme sacrifice so that Filipinos will continue to live in peace.”

Heads should roll

Two ranking military officials said the AFP should conduct an inquiry into the Tipo-Tipo ambush.

“What happened was a failure of leadership from top to bottom for lack of experience, failure of intelligence and failure of realistic planning to include intelligent mission planning,” said a general, who asked not to be named. He said the brigade up to the Western Mindanao Command should be held liable.

Another general said heads should roll. He said Maj. Gen. Mayoralgo del Cruz, the regional military chief, was  micromanaging the operations at the expense of soldiers’ lives. “He planned it. He even went to the battalion headquarters before the troops jumped off. This is super micromanagement, a three-star general wanting to do the 2nd Lieutenant’s job,” the officer said.

Iriberri, in an interview on Sunday in Zamboanga, said that it was too early to call for a probe. “As we speak, an operation is ongoing in Basilan,” he said.

In an interview at the funeral home, Jennylyn Alani, wife of Cpl. Jayson Alani of La Piedad, Isabela City, said her husband called her up on Friday night.

“He told me to take care of our children and that I should not miss eating. I even told him that he was giving me the creeps because it was like he was saying goodbye,” Jennylyn said.

Jennylyn said her husband was on a break for a week, but was recalled on April 4. “He received a call that they must all report at once,” she said. The 44th Infantry Battalion arrived in Basilan last week.

Jennylyn said she wanted to know what really happened. She said her husband called her on Friday night, informing her that they would be moving to Tipo-Tipo on Saturday morning. She learned of her husband’s death at 9 p.m. Saturday. No one, however, briefed her about what happened.

Military honors awaited

Gemma Alani,  younger sister of Cpl. Jayson Alani, told the Inquirer, “We will only be at peace if we know what really happened.” She said it took

24 hours before the family was able to see her brother’s body. She said military officials told them they should not talk to journalists until the remains of the soldiers had reached their hometowns.

“Where are the military honors? It would have been good for us to see our brother and his comrades given honors. Why  would they want to keep our emotions down?” Gemma asked.

She said many families had rushed to St. Peter Funeral Home on  Sunday morning but were told to wait as bodies were still being recovered from the encounter site.

Maj. Filemon Tan Jr., spokesperson of the Western Mindanao Command, said that a dedicated military honor ceremony will be given to fallen soldiers.  “They are being taken care of by their mother unit, the 1st

Infantry Division,” Tan said.

The mother of 1st Lt. Remigio Licenia urged the government to pursue the killers of her 28-year-old son, who was a teacher at the Rang-ayan National High School in Ilagan City, Isabela, before joining the army.

“We condemn the killing of my son and the soldiers who had been serving the people. They must pay,” said Maria Clara Bundoc-Licenia.  Her son’s body arrived at nearby Gamu town in Isabela Monday. With a report from Villamor Visaya Jr., Inquirer Northern Luzon, and Jaymee T. Gamil in Manila