SAF 44 widow joins protest rally in Cebu, calls on Aquino to resign

President Benigno Aquino III. AP FILE PHOTO

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Dr. Christine Abucay-Cempron did not usually join protest rallies and was not a member of any militant organization during her student days at the University of Philippines Cebu College.

But on Wednesday, she joined militant groups in a rally in Cebu City marking the 29th anniversary of the Edsa People Power I uprising and the first month anniversary of the Mamasapano carnage.

Cempron, 33, widow of PO1 Romeo Cempron, one of the 44 Special Action Force (SAF) commandos killed by Moro rebels during a law enforcement operation in Mamasapano carnage, joined the call for President Aquino to resign.

“They say that this SAF 44 issue is overly emotional. We, Filipinos, are very emotional. They forgot what we are commemorating today, the emotion that we had to deal with. People Power I was made possible because of the people’s emotions that time, right? This emotion that we feel has united us and allowed us to open our eyes to the different issues that we continue to endure,” she said during a program held in front of Camp Sergio Osmeña, the Central Visayas police headquarters.

Cempron wore a black shirt printed with the image of her husband as she marched with protesters in Cebu City led by the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan)-Central Visayas from Fuente Osmeña to Colon Street.

Like other protesters, she also wore around her head a red ribbon printed with “Resign,” a call for President Aquino to step down from power for the badly planned Mamasapano mission to arrest terrorists.

At the regional police headquarters, the protesters offered a wreath to symbolize their sympathy with the widows of the slain elite policemen.

Cempron expressed her dismay on how President Aquino’s administration has been handling the investigation into the carnage.

She cried during the program, urging the President to stop telling the families of the fallen SAF troops that he knew how they felt.

“You don’t know how it feels like because if you knew how it felt like to lose a husband, you would not have been in places (where you should not be),” she said, referring to the absence of President Aquino during the arrival of the remains of the slain SAF members at the Villamor Air Base last Jan. 29.

Instead of saluting the remains of the SAF 44, the President attended the inauguration of a Mitsubishi Motors Corp. plant in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.

“If you have respect for the SAF 44 and you know that they are arriving for the first time, you should have been there….You tell me that you understand us. You really don’t because it’s different. It’s very different,” she said.

She said it was “so difficult and painful” not to fully know where the investigation has been going and where would it go.

“We know whom to blame but they washed their hands during the investigation,” she said.

“Enough na ang kapalpakan (We have enough failures). In fact, we don’t need to ask (Aquino) to step down. If he has the decency, he would do it on his own,” she added.

Cempron was not afraid to go to jail for asking the President to step down.

“What would (I lose)? I don’t have a child. I don’t have a husband. It’s very difficult to even start and end my day. Tell me, what have I got to lose if I will go to jail?” she said.

Organizers said about 400 protesters joined the rally but police placed the crowd at 100.

In Iloilo City, about 500 protesters led by Bayan held a protest rally along Bonifacio Drive before marching on the city’s main streets.

“For almost a month now, Mr. Aquino is still dodging the blame when it clearly shows that he directed the operation upon the instruction of the United States,” said Hope Hervilla, chair of Bayan-Panay.

“We did not fight the Marcos dictatorship until he was toppled during the EDSA People Power I revolt only to suffer under a government that subverts the truth behind the deaths of 44 SAF troopers, 18 Moro rebels and five civilians,” Hervilla said.

Youth and student groups also held candle-lighting protests Tuesday evening in Iloilo, Aklan and Capiz to call for government accountability and justice for those who died in the Mamasapano clash.

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