Medal of Valor for Marine sergeant slain in 2020

A Marine sergeant killed during a gun battle with the New People’s Army (NPA) in Palawan in 2020 was named the latest recipient of the most coveted Medal for Valor, the highest award for combat in the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Staff Sgt. Cesar Barlas of the Force Reconnaissance Group led a four-man assault team to go after communist rebels belonging to the Bienvenido Vallever Command at Barangay Mainit in Brooke’s Point, Palawan, on Sept, 3, 2020, the citation read.

Disregarding his own safety and acting without orders, Barlas assaulted the enemy position.

He exchanged gunfire with more or less five rebels “and managed to neutralize” three of them, including two high-value targets, before he was fatally wounded.

The encounter killed five NPA rebels, including Bonifacio “Salvador Luminoso” Magramo, the secretary of the Unite 4E of the Southern Tagalog Regional Party Committee; and Andrea “Ka Naya” Rosal, daughter of late NPA spokesperson Ka Roger Rosal and deputy secretary of the group.

Barlas’ ultimate sacrifice led to “the collapse of Kilusang Larangan Guerilla-Palawan,” the citation read.

President Marcos posthumously awarded Barlas with the Medal for Valor during the AFP anniversary rites on Thursday. His wife, Certesa, received the award on his behalf. —Frances Mangosing

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