One of 19 soldiers slain in Basilan clash buried in Iloilo

ILOILO City, Philippines—One of the 19 soldiers slain in the Oct. 18 clash in Basilan was buried with full military honors in Dumangas town in Iloilo Sunday afternoon.

A 21-gun salute accompanied the burial of Corporal Roberto Recafranca at the Dumangas public cemetery around 1 p.m.

Hundreds of mourners attended the burial of Recafranca, a native of Basilan but whose wife is from Barangay (village) Bantud in Dumangas, around 42 kilometers northeast of this city.

Recafranca, 32, and a sniper belonging to the First Scout Ranger Battalion (FSRB), was among the 19 soldiers killed in a clash with Moro rebels in Al-Barka, Basilan.

Six Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels also died in the 10-hour firefight considered the bloodiest in recent years.

Captain Ronald Suscano, civil military operations officer of the Army’s 301st Brigade, said around 40 soldiers from the FSRB, 61st Infantry Battalion and the 3rd Infantry Division attended the burial and rendered the military honors.