Lone survivor of Mamasapano blocking unit leaves SAF – official

The lone survivor of the 55th Special Action Company has joined majority of the 30 survivors of the Mamasapano massacre in leaving the Special Action Force, SAF, its commanding officer, Director Moro Virgilio Lazo has revealed.

Police Officer 3 Christopher Lalan, the lone survivor from the 55th Special Action Company (SAC), which served as a blocking force during the January 25 Mamasapano (Maguindanao) operation, has left the Special Action Force (SAF).

Lalan, who lost 35 comrades during the operation, wanted to be closer to 12 of his fallen brothers now buried in various cemeteries in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), according to SAF chief Director Moro Virgilio Lazo.

He also wanted to be close to the families of his fellow SAF men as part of his “therapy,” Lazo said.

Lazo told Inquirer.net that most of the 30 survivors of Mamasapano have opted to leave the SAF after the operation that almost cost their lives. They asked to be assigned to their provinces to join the local police offices.

“They felt that they can’t push their luck. Parang, ‘tapos na, nakaligtas na ako. Ayaw ko nang parating nakikipaglaban,'” (It’s like: I’ve gone through that. I don’t want to be always fighting) he said, sharing the thoughts of those who sought reassignment.

The unit of Lalan, who survived the carnage in the fields of Barangay (village) Tukanalipao, Mamasapano, Maguindanao, served as a blocking force and was one of several teams tasked to secure the withdrawal of the main assault force, the 38-man 84th SAC, which lost 9 of its own men.

A total of 44 SAF commandos died in the corn fields of Mamasapano along with 17 members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and three civilians.

READ: BOI report: 5 of 44 slain SAF troopers given ‘coup de grâce’

“I asked him personally, why do you want to go back to your hometown? Your enemies could easily track you there,” Lazo recalled.

But according to Lazo, Lalan insisted on joining the local police in his province. “Part of my therapy is to go and visit my company mates in the cemetery,” Lazo quoted Lalan as saying.

The SAF director said part of Lalan’s “therapy” was to talk to the families left behind by his fallen comrades who were also Cordillerans.

“That’s what Lalan wanted so we let him go but we emphasized that he should be very careful,” said Lazo.

One of the SAF survivors, who requested anonymity for security purposes, told INQUIRER.net that he requested reassignment outside the SAF even though it was difficult for him to leave the unit which had been his home for several years.

“It was sad to be away from my brothers in SAF but I had to be transferred. I was afraid my motivation would be to seek revenge for my fellow troopers who were killed mercilessly,” he said.

Closer to families

Lazo said he allowed some survivors to leave SAF “much as I have wanted them to stay longer.”

If he had his way, Lazo said the battle-tested men could have inspired more SAF recruits as he planned to assign them as instructors at SAF training school at Fort Sto. Domingo in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.

“But they still wanted to be reassigned and be closer with their families,” he said.

In the meantime, Lazo said life had to go on in the SAF.

“The Special Action Force cannot die with its 44 fallen members in Mamasapano, Maguindanao. The show must go on.”

Nearly six months after the January 25 tragedy considered the deadliest operation of the elite police unit, Lazo said the unit continued to perform its counter-terrorism duties.

The killing of 44 SAF commandos triggered public outrage and threatened to derail the government’s peace process with the rebel group. It has been branded as a massacre by a Senate panel which investigated the incident.

While “rebuilding” the police unit since Mamasapano, Lazo said there had been no halt in planning operations against suspected terrorists and bombers, particularly in Mindanao.

Brothers lost

“We lost our brothers, more than brothers. But we cannot also die with them. The show must go on. We must continue with our mandate,” Lazo said in an interview with INQUIRER.net on Tuesday.

After the incident, Lazo said members of SAF units in Mindanao were “very eager” to get down to work and start their missions. “To the point that we had to control them: ‘Oops, let’s rebuild our units first.'”

In the operation dubbed “Oplan Exodus,” the SAF killed international terrorist Zulkifli Bin Hir or “Marwan.” But Marwan’s Filipino protegé and the operation’s other target, Abdul Basit Usman, escaped. Four months later, Usman was killed by MILF men in Guindulungan, Maguindanao.

“Despite of what happened on January 25, (SAF troopers) are in high morale,” said Lazo. “We use this incident as a motivation for us to work and strive harder to prove to the ‘Gallant 44’ that they did not sacrifice their life in vain.”

Boosting SAF’s morale

Since he took the leadership of the SAF in March, Lazo has visited SAF units to boost the morale of his men, especially those in far-flung provinces.

“Every time there’s an opportunity, I give pep talk to my men. I always tell them: Let’s not be sad. We can’t just slump down, not low morale through and through,” he said.

And at the end of each dialogue, Lazo said SAF troopers were “enlightened.”

Lazo replaced Director Getulio Napeñas, who was among the key planners of Exodus. After his relief, Napenas applied for a non-duty status until he retired from police service last July 18.

Although at times, Lazo said he and the rest of SAF members could not help but shed tears whenever they remembered their fallen brothers.

“It’s very difficult for the SAF to adjust after the incident. But it was made easy because everyone cooperated in the SAF’s rebuilding,” he said.  CB

Originally posted at 10:47 a.m., July 22, 2015.

Revised to change lead.