Bodies of 9 Bacolod heroes arrive from Basilan

BACOLOD CITY - The bodies of nine Special Forces soldiers killed in Basilan while trying to free the remaining children hostages of the Abu Sayyaf arrived yesterday on board a ship that also transported athletes from Central Mindanao to the Millennium Palarong Pambansa here.

Col. Alphonsus Crucero, 303rd Infantry Brigade commander, personally led Army officers in receiving the remains of the nine members of the 32nd Special Forces Company, previously known as the 606th SF Company when it was assigned to Negros Occidental.

Bacolod City Rep. John Orola was among those who met the cadavers, some of which were dismembered and mutilated.

"The soldiers did not die for Mindanao alone but for the entire country," Orola said.

There were actually 11 Special Forces soldiers from Negros killed in an ambush by the Abu Sayyaf in Basilan last May 2, but the bodies of only nine were shipped to the province yesterday.

The nine were identified as Sergeants Jerry Alvarez, Rodrigo Aguirre, Elvis Estremo, Jose Larry Lago, and Wilson Caban and Corporals Jaime Bagaporo, Reggie Arevalo, Jose Dimaranan and Ricardo Ebas.

Aguirre was reportedly still alive when he was beheaded by the Abu Sayyaf. The eyes of Estremos were gauged out.

A problem ensued at the reception of the cadavers when two girls each claiming to be the legal wife of Aguirre wanted to take possession of his body.

The Special Forces unit was pulled out of Negros Occidental three months ago for retraining in Ft. Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija, before its deployment to Basilan.