SAF 44’s ‘last man standing’ laid to rest

The Philippine National Police Special Action Forces carry the flag-draped coffins of their comrades upon arrival from the southern Philippines Thursday, Jan. 29, 2015 at Villamor Air Base in Pasay, Philippines. The flag-draped coffins bearing the bodies of 42 of the 44 policemen killed last Sunday were flown Thursday to Manila, where top government, police and military officials stood in mourning. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

VIRAC, Catanduanes- Senior Inspector Max Jim Ramirez Tria was so low profile that he did not want to introduce himself as a police officer, according to his best friend Paulo Sixto Landig.

And in true Tria fashion, the slain “last man standing” of the Mamasapano encounter in Maguindanao was laid to rest at noon Saturday in an out-of-the-way corner of the Palta Catholic Cemetery in this town that had to be cleared of vegetation.

Around 2,000 people attended the funeral rites for Tria, 27, who was among the 44 Philippine National Police Special Action Force (PNP-SAF) troopers killed last January 25.

Among them were members of the media, who were asked by his family as well as Tria’s batchmates at the PNP Academy (PNPA) not to take photographs and videos of the last viewing of the casket at the small chapel at the cemetery.

Only the loud sobs of his mother, Efigenia, broke the silence of the hushed crowd as the rest of the family gathered beside the coffin.

The PNP marching band, brought in from the mainland headquarters of the Bicol police in Legazpi City, played taps after a squad of policemen fired their rifles during the 21-gun salute.

Also present during the Mass presided by Bishop Manolo de los Santos were Rep. Cesar Sarmiento; Chief Supt. Victor Deona, Bicol police director; Chief Supt. Ignacio Panti, director of Bureau of Jail and Management Penology in Bicol; several mayors and Provincial Board members.

There were no high-ranking representatives from Malacañang or the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

According to a source, DILG Secretary Mar Roxas sent a wreath of flowers during the wake while a member of the Presidential Management Staff (PMS) of Malacañang also delivered a wreath from President Benigno Aquino III.

The elder Tria initially refused to have the President’s wreath placed at the entrance of the house as per protocol but relented after the PMS staffer explained she was just following orders. Among the wreaths brought to the burial site, the Roxas wreath was placed at the back behind the others while the presidential wreath was nowhere to be seen.

The Tria family wanted the funeral to stay as private as possible. That same privacy was requested by Tria’s father, Senior Insp. Guillermo Tria Jr., who heads the internal affairs service (IAS) unit of the PNP in Catanduanes, during the week-long wake at the family residence at Barangay Cabihian, some 10 km from the town center of Virac.

Landig, whose friendship with Tria, known as Mac-Mac to family and friends, started in elementary and blossomed during high school at the Catanduanes State University, said during the necrological rites that the slain police officer might have been low-profile in life but he leaves as a hero not only in his province but in the entire nation.

Landig recalled that last May 2014, during one of the nights that he, Tria and fellow best friend Michael Valderrama met in the latter’s condo unit in Metro Manila, Mac-Mac expressed his thought of the worst that an enemy could do to him.

“Hindi ako magpapahuli ng buhay. Hahawak ako ng dalawang granada. Tingnan ko kung makalapit pa sila (They will not capture me alive. I will hold two grenades. Let me see if they could still come near),” Tria told him.

Landig said Tria apparently sacrificed his life the way he wanted, as he had been found with grenades in each hand, the “last man gunned down by the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels.”

Tria’s classmates at PNPA and SAF, who spoke of his courage and concern for his fellow troopers, asked for justice for Tria and the rest of the SAF 44.

“We hope we will get the justice we seek… also the truth,” they said.

On behalf of the family, Tria’s eldest brother Ace William, paid tribute to his parents for being the true heroes in raising their sons to lead a simple, quiet but happy life.

“Mac-Mac’s death shows that one does not need to be a star or a rich man to make his life relevant,” he said, expressing hope that his brother’s sacrifice would serve to inspire everyone, especially the youth. #

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