Sunday,May 29,2011 was a day to remember for the families of 2 captured AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) soldiers.With little warning they found that their loved ones would finally be coming home after a difficult 45 days as"guests"of the NPA.On April 14 Corporal Delfin Largo Sarocam and Private First Class (PFC) Jayson Burgos Valenzuela of the 57IB (Infantry Battalion) were escorting a former Barangay Kagawad (Councillor) Eliory Lastimosa to a community forum to orient the community on the AFP's plans to deploy a PDT (Peace and Development Team,"Hearts and Minds"mechanism that serves as the cornerstone of the present Counterinsurgency (COIN) Programme,"Operational Plan-aka OPlan-Bayanihan") into the community.
As the 3 men entered the barangay in question,Datu Puas Inda,in the North Cotabato Provincial municipality of President Roxas,they came to an NPA checkpoint manned by 20 guerillas in Sitio Dalinding.Having been waiting especially for the 3 the guerillas quickly moved to divest the soldiers of their 45 caliber sidearms and then just as rapidly bundled them off into the jungle as prisoners of Front 53,the Herminio Alfonso Command (SMRC aka Southern Mindanao Regional Committee,1 of 5 NPA Regional Committees on Mindanao).Marched overland on foot they were initially taken to a Front 53 Camp in the neighbouring town of Arakan before later being transferred to Front 20,the Conrado Heredia Command,the custodial unit for the SMRC as a whole.
As has been the case for the last 3 years the capture was almost a non-event.These goings on have become oh so common place and downright predictable.Soldiers or police officers are held for up to 90 days during which the NPA engages in repetitive propaganda exercises and issues grandiose statements to the media about the Hague and the Geneva Conventions.Local politicians and Catholic clergymen participate in this almost surreal psychodrama as the poor families of these captured soldiers lay in bed crying,wondering whether or not they will ever see their husbands,sons and fathers again.Of course they will,it is already scripted but noone outside this very narrow mileu understands that.Indeed,even most within this small world couldn't care less and so it continues.
On April 28th the requisite POL (Proof of Life) was released to the powers that be.An audio tape of each captive telling their loved ones not to worry and that they are getting enough sleep and adequate food was passed out with the de riguer"They are treating me very well."In fact they should just mass produce these POLs and simply leave the names blank,filling them in as they go.The POL package included a photo of each prisoner holding up a recently dated local newspaper so as to verify the POL's currency.Both men asked the AFP to cease and desist in their Search and Rescue Operations.Not even AFP personnel want to be rescued by the AFP.The"shoot first and don't even bother asking questions ever"mentality is enough to make any non-suicidal person nervous.The only unusual aspect was Corporal Sarocam's request that the Iglesia ng Kristo (Church of Christ) negotiate for his release.
Not to be confused with the Western-based denomination"Church of Christ,"this denomination is a homegrown sect that imparts messianic qualities to its late founder.A very rich group,as well it should be since adherants must pay cash fines for every prayer meeting and Bible study they fail to attend (or even arrive late for).Obviously Sarocam is a member and the message is code for,"Pay my fuc*en' ransom FAST."The NPA,like any insurgent organisation is continuously strapped for cash.It isn't easy when you have to pay P45 ($1.05) per 5.56MM bullet when buying from your local IB CO (Commanding Officer).Hey,at 1 US a day combat per diem you can't blame the AFP,they have needs just like the rest of us.
Fast forward to May 29th,North Cotabato Provincial Vice Governor Gregorio Ipong and Catholic Church Negotiator Father Paul Paracha eagerly drove to Barangay Balite in the provincial municipality of Magpet to await directions from Fr.Paracha's NPA contact on where to retrieve the 2 soldiers.Upon entering the barangay they were directed by cell phone to the outlying sitio of Laquiahon where the NPA had prepared its usual circle jer* of a love fest,everyone smiling for the cameras,assigned seats for local politicos and Church"leaders."The 2 soldiers then joined the priest and Vice Governor for the long drive to Kidapawan City in South Cotabato Province where they were reunited with their families at Bishop Romulo de la Cruz's Official Residence in Barangay Balindog.The Kidapawan Diocese needed to get its money's worth of publicity having had to shell out a pretty penny for PFC.Valenzuela's ransom.
On the same day that Valenzuela and Sarocam were enjoying a very brief respite before IS-AFP (AFP Intelligence Service) Debriefing began,their compatriots were busy elsewhere on the island.
The Scout Rangers 2nd Battalion,6th COY (Company) on a Recon (Reconnaisance Op) in the municipality of Cateel in Davao Oriental Province stumbled across a column of NPA guerillas from the aforementioned Front 20 and the 30 minute firefight led to the AFP rushing blindly through the dense jungle in a rarely launched Hot Pursuit Operation (despite the claims of the AFP to undertake such operations under its SOP,or Standard Operating Procedure).Why do it then?As I noted earlier in this entry Front 20,the Conrado Heredia Command,is the custodial unit of that particular NPA Regional Command,SMRC (Southern Mindanao Regional Committee).Though both captured soldiers had already been released in North Cotabato Province the AFP doesn't immediately relay these facts to its field units.The 6th Scout Ranger COY saw an opportunity to earn accolades by"rescuing"2 of their comrades in arms.
How did our fearless defenders of the Philippines aim to conduct their"Rescue Op"?Discovering a huge 200 man camp in the middle of densely packed jungle in Barangay Aliwagwag's Sitio Carampel (Karimpel) the 40 Scouts,under Capt.Aunor Balansi crawled on their bellies to within 30 meters of the camp's outlying bunkers.Setting up a loose perimeter (think of a noose,opened at one end so as to allow a clear avenue of escape).The camp also housed Front 25,the SMRC's Regional Operations Command and also served as a logistical hub for SMRC Fronts at the northern end of the SMRC's area of operations.Therefore,as luck would have it,members of Front 15,the Antonio Nerio Command were also on site.
The AFP's official narrative claims that its men crawled on their bellies to within 30 meters of the camp's large bunkers.This is not the usual AFP way in which to launch an attack but the locale is so deeply forested as to be inaccessible even to fast roping infiltration by helicopters (as IF the AFP EVER does THAT),meaning it is incredibly thickly covered with rain forest flora.So,the 30 meters bit is absolutely believable.Likewise so is the AFP boast that they opened fire on what would have been unarmed guerillas.However,to assault a 200 man camp under the element of full suprise and still fail to retrieve a single captured prisoner or even a single KIA (Killed in Action,as in dead guerillas) just defies belief.
The usual AFP "assault"involves an opened perimeter.As I noted just above,picture an open noose,laid around a camp.Now,if you are a capable officer you deploy a Blocking Force along that open end of the"noose"which serves as an avenue of escape,if not actually tying the noose shut to prevent any escape to begin with.The Blocking Force serves to mop up those guerillas rushing headlong out of the camp hoping to avoid capture or annihilation.Imagine 200 dead or captured guerillas?What a coup that would be for the AFP.In reality the AFP almost always leaves a clear avenue for escape sans Blocking Force.The camp is the prize,not its personnel.
To show you how worthless the AFP mindset is,that very same camp had been captured in June of 2010.
The 25IB had been on a Search and Rescue Op for...deja vu...2 captured AFP soldiers:
1) Staff Sergeant Bienvenido Arguelles
2) CAFGU Job Latiban
who like the soldiers mentioned at the beginning of my post had been captured at an NPA checkpoint in ComVal's (Compostela Valley Province) Monkayo,a town immediately adjacent to Cateel despite the provincial border.In that"assault"a 30 minute firefight ended with Front 20,Front 25 and Front 3,the Alejandro Lanaja Command,escaping down that requisite unmolested avenue.
In the May 29th"capture"the AFP was able to claim an actual victory in the caprure of 5 rifles:two M16s,two M14s and one M4.The June,27,2010 capture resulted in 4 IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices,as in homemade bombs) and 6 rifles whose make and variation I noted in the NPA Armed Contact/Tactical Offence entry for the relevant time period.This latest camp"capture"resulted in 3 AFP WIAs (Wounded in Actions) though the NPA is ALSO claiming to have killed 8 men there as well,including 2 junior officers.
In terms of NPA casualties there were 2 guerilla KIAs and 4 WIAs,3 of which are extremely critical.Interestingly the Front 20 contact person contacted everybody's favourite mass murderer,Vice Mayor Rodrigo"Roddy"Duterte and asked him for assistance in saving the lives of those 3 critically injured insurgents.As I noted recently Duterte long ago entered into a working relationship with the NPA's Leonicio"Ka Parago"Pitao in which Duterte"sold"him the right to operate in 4 of the city's outlying districts.
The 3 wounded guerillas:
1) Jason"Ka Jerome"Casilum,of Davao City's Calinan District
2) Ariel"Ka Diwa"Haducala,of Dinagat Island which may or may not be a province of its own depending upon the day you read this.If it isn't it will still be Surigao del Norte Province.The Supreme Court can't make up its mind on the issue.
3) Vanessa"Ka Enching"Tropico de los Reyes,also of Calinan District,Davao City
were retrieved on Wednesday,June 1st by a Davao City helicopter in which Duterte personally rode shotgun (the same copter which he openly brags about having used it to drop people head first into the ocean).The 3 were then airlifted to Davao City where Duterte has personally vowed to protect them from apprehension (hope his vow means more than it did this past Christmas when it led to Edwin Brigano's capture).The 3,along with the 4th wounded guerilla were originally taken to an NPA-friendly hospital in Bislig,Surigao del Sur Province.Virtually all NPA-friendly hospitals are in deplorable condition so that Front 20 Secretary,known by the nom de guerre"Ka Jess,"felt compelled to call in a big favour to Vice Mayor Duterte.This would never have happened had the female guerilla,Ms.de los Reyes not been Ka Jess' lover.Sadly she is now parapelgic since a bullet severed her spinal cord.She also lost 1 kidney so that her condition is extremely grave.Her shocked mother believed her daughter had been teaching Political Science at a public university in Davao City,suprise...suprise...suprise.
Touching down at 3AM on June 2nd the 3 were rushed to Southern Philippines Medical Center in Davao City where they remain as of this posting.
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