Soldiers dying in defence of their dury is always poigbant but many, if not most, take some measure of comfort knowing that such men have not died in vain...but what about when soldiers die needlessly?
Sitio Tubig Magtuh in the municipality of Patikul's Barangay Panglayahan sits in between two sheer-faced peaks, Mount Tunggol and Mount Gasam. Towards the rear of the sitio going upland there is a very sharp incline, heavily forested with successive ridgelines. The only way in is by foot and going uphill. Above the third ridgeline the land takes a more gentle slope and it is there that the Abu Sayyaf's Kumander Radullan "Putol" Sahiron established a well entrenched encampment.
On July 27th, 2011 the AFP, or Armed Forces of the Philippines, implemented its OPlan (Operational Plan)_ Wild Finger, the latest facet of its more comprehensive OPlan Five Fingers. Wild Finger aimed to de-stabilise the ASG, or Abu Sayyaf Group infrastructure by putting all its numerous Jolo-based factions on the defencive with an aggressive and concerted Fleet-Marine push ("Fleet Marine" being the inclusive Naval-Marine intertwined operational doctrine implemented by the AFP in 2006). Marine Battalion Landing Team #5, or MBLT-5, 311th Company divided itself into three platoons of thirty-two riflemen and one commanding officer and divvied up its given AOR, or Area of Responsibility (as in "Area of Operation").
After midnite Company 311's Platoon 30, under Second Lieutenant Michael Baladad, cautiously entered the upland barangay of Panglayahan and began advancing very slowly as the barangay is ASG-controlled in its upper environs. At 315AM, as the thirty-three men began moving painstakingly slow, advancing up a steep rise, the skies opened up with a torrential thunderstorm. As the men stopped to quietly switch into their rain gear the jungle uphill and to the sides of them came alive with automatic rifle fire.
Immediately Second Lieutenant Baladad and the man closest to him, his second in command, Seargant Desiderio Serdan Jr., who was carrying the platoon's ICOM radio, fell, both instantly killed in the initial fusiilade. The remaining thirty-one men, now rudderless, devoid of command, spread out and fell to their stomachs as their years of training kicked in. Unable to even crawl to Seargant Serdan to call in on the ICOM for assistance the marines concentrated their fire, ever mindful of conserving ammunition. Holding their positions they continued inching to the sides to prevent the Abu Sayyaf from encircling them. Applying pressure on both flanks the marines were slowly able to force the ASG guerillas into a short retreat uphill, albeit to a posiion still very well within firing range.
With rain subsiding just after daybreak the Abu Sayyaf began re-gaining what little ground they had lost. Outnumbering their Marine counterparts by a factor of two and using well honed tactics the guerillas soon had the platoon retreating down hill though very slowly. Seven dead Marines were left where they had died, as the twenty-six survivors, all wounded to the last man themselves, maintained a cohesive formation and repelled numerous attempts to outflank their position. By 7AM the ASG firepower diminished and then quickly subsided as the guerillas retreated further into the mountains.
Slowly the platoon re-climbed the slope to retrieve the bodies of their fallen comrades and any equipment they might salvage. Not only were all seven corpses stripped of everything but their underwear, four of the corpses had been defiled. Second Lieutenant Baladad and another of the fallen, Corporal Freddie Castellano Jr., had been decapitated and their hads had been taken with the retreating guerillas. Two other corpses had been mutilated with a sword. With the ICOM now captured by the Abu Sayyaf the twenty-six surviving- but wounded- members of Platoon 30 realised that they were ill equipped to negotiate the very steep, and now muddied slopes while carrying their fallen comrades. Therefore they reluctantly made their way downhill without the seven and threaded their way into the town proper. There a corporal phoned in a status report to Brigade Headquarters and tended to the most seriously injured amongst them.
It was late in the afternoon before two UH-1H helicopters, popularly known as "Hueys," landed near the town's municipal compound. Taking two of the least injured Marines aboard, one in each helicopter, they lifted off covered by two MG-520 helicopter gunships hovering on their flanks for aircover. The Hueys disgorged portions of MBLTs 5 and 10, the other two battalions engaged in OPlan Wild Finger, and the tedious and painstaking recovery effort began. By night fall the seven bodies of the fallen Marines. The casualties:
1) Second Lieutenant Michael Baladad, the platoon leader, of Quezon City in Metro Manila. He left behind his wife Michelle and their two young children, Macky, age 6, and Mikayla, age 2. Michelle had spoken to her husband just before he led his men into the jungle. They had discussed his upcoming R and R (Rest and Relaxation, aka "Leave") just a week away and how they were going to take the kids to the Manila Zoo. Sadly, she had last seen her husband in March when they had gotten married.
2) Seargant Desiderio Serdan Jr., a resident of Iriga City in Camarines del Sur Province on Luzon.
3) Corporal Freddie Castellano Jr., a lifelong resident of Sitio Mercedes in the municipality of La Castellana's Barangay Sag-ang. He and his family lived on Hacienda Mercedes, a sugar plantation where Corporal Castellano had laboured before entering the military.
4) Corporal Claro Lapasaran III, a resident of the municipality of Barotac's Barangay Licuan in Nuevo Iolio Province in the Central Philippine's Visayas Region.
5) Corporal Ramsel Laynesa, a resident of the municipality of Nabua in the province of Camarines del Sur on Luzon.
6) Private First Class Juanito Evasco Jr., also a resident of Nabua.
7) Private Nico Tinambunan, a lifelong resident of Lamitan City in Basilan Province.
All seven bodies were immediately brought to Camp Bautista in Jolo City on that same island of Jolo where they were stored as arrangements were made. Early Saturday morning, July 30th, they were transported to Camp Erwin Andrews in Zamboanga City where Private Tinambunan's body was offloaded. As a Muslim his funeral had to take place as soon as possible. Ideally a Muslim must be interred before sunset on the day of his or her death but in this case not much could be done. As his body was flown across the strait to Basilan the C-130 lifted off for the flight to Manila where the six remaining corpses would be given a military funeral. Upon landing each white enameled coffin was loaded onto six separate hearses and driven to the auditorium at Marine Headquarters at Fort Bonifacio.
The next morning, Sunday, July 31st, President Aquino made his appearance aa did all high ranking personalities in the military echelon. The President vowed revenge, and promised that each family of the deceased would receive P250,000 ($5,150), a vertible fortune in Philippine terms at nearly two times the annual salary of an enlisted man. The payouts will be sourced from the Presidential Social Fund, a euphanism for "Slush Fund." Considering that AFP personnel are dying in combat every month it seems a bit strange that President Aquino would offer such largesse when he never even raises an eyebrow when other soldiers or marines are killed. Photo opportunities make all the difference.
Each of the seven men received a promotion of a single rank which is a standard procedure and does help to boost the pension any spouse or primary survivor will receive. Also, President Aquino personally awarded- posthumously- the nation's second highest honour, the Gold Cross, for "Gallantry in Action." Again, plenty of people dying and noone bats an eye. On Tuesday, August 2nd, all bodies were released to their families with the AFP delivering them.
Some readers may have remembered that in my first paragraph I had inferred that these seven men gave up their lives for nothing. That seems extremely harsh, but I am sure that if you know the facts that you very well might agree with me.
That very same Abu Sayyaf camp in Sitio Tubig Magtuh? It has been overun and captured by AFP Marines no less than five times in the last seven years. It is true that in war a barren hill with no apparent utility tactically OR strategically can be taken, and re-taken, with great casualties incurred. However, in insurgency it is a different story. When a strategic position is captured, no matter the cost, it must be held and eventually consolidated with other similarly cleared assets. Realising that Sitio Tubig Magtuh holds extreme strategical value for Kumander Sahiron the AFP should have long ago capitalised on its gains there and at least biouvaced a CAA, or Civilian Active Auxiliary (as in CAFGU or CVO) detachment there to repel any future attempts at re-taking the site.
Sadly, each of the several AFP assaults on that particular camp have taken place at a particular time of year, late March. So, just about every Easter Week the AFP sends in a Marine detachment, usually from MBLT-5, to re-take this same camp. It borders on insanity. At least this time the AFP has learned a lesson or two and has installed a military post at the encampment site. Naming the post "Camp Baladad" in honour of Second Lieutenant Michael Baladad, the fallen platoon leader, it is manned by a platoon from none other than MBLT-5.
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