Unity walks dramatize support for fallen heroes

MANILA, Philippines - Former schoolmates, friends and sympathizers of the 44 members of the Special Action Force (SAF) killed in clashes with Muslim rebels last Sunday held a “unity walk” yesterday to dramatize their demand for a thorough investigation into the incident as well as express sympathy to the bereaved families.

Over 1,000 people, mostly members of the Philippine National Police Academy Alumni Association Inc. (PNPAAAI), participated in the unity walk from the gate of the Libingan ng mga Bayani at Fort Bonifacio to Camp Ricardo Papa in Bicutan, Taguig, where the remains of the SAF commandos temporarily lie in state.

A similar unity walk was held simultaneously in Cebu attended by over 500 individuals.

PNPAAAI members are from the PNP, the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP).

Chief Superintendent Tomas Rentoy III, PNPAAAI chairman of the board, said seven of the slain SAF commandos were graduates of the PNPA.

Vice President Jejomar Binay was seen with Rentoy during the unity walk. Binay is an adopted member of PNPA Class 1987.

“We mourn their death and salute their bravery. We condole and pray with their bereaved families,” Rentoy said.

It was Rentoy who encouraged the colleagues of the 44 slain SAF men to go on mass leave to dramatize their indignation.

Rentoy said the PNPAAAI would provide P100,000 each to the victims’ families.

“We also call on the administration to allocate adequate resources to the PNP-SAF in order to enhance its air and marine support capability to enable it to suppress organized criminal elements,” Rentoy added.

Around 200 members of the Army’s elite Scout Rangers and Special Forces (SF) have also left Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija for Manila to pay their last respects to the slain SAF men.

Col. Danilo Pamonag, commander of the Light Reaction Regiment, led the group.

“They’re at Camp Bagong Diwa because of the unwritten bond among themselves. The PNP-SAF commandos, our Army’s Scout Rangers, Special Forces, virtually shared everything during their training and even in the conduct of actual combat operations,” said Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesman Col. Restituto Padilla.

SAF commandos cross-trained with the Army’s Scout Rangers or with the Special Forces at Fort Magsaysay.

Pamonag was the overall ground commander of security forces during the Zamboanga siege and that among the elite troops placed under his direct control were SAF commandos, including the “fallen 44.”

“They’re a band of brothers. That’s the culture our elite forces have developed. They shared each other’s happiness as well as their grief, that’s why our elite troops made sure that they were in Bicutan (yesterday),” Padilla said.  

Meanwhile, the Philippine Military Academy Alumni Association Inc. (PMAAAI) also condemned the killing of the SAF men, calling it “a heinous crime” and “a dastardly act.”

In a statement, the PMAAAI said the government should not let those responsible for the carnage go unpunished for the sake of “political concession or appeasement.”

“The incident impinging on the security of all people in Mindanao must also be seriously and carefully studied in the light of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) to prevent greater problems,” PMAAAI said in a statement signed by its chairman Jose Maria Solquillo. – Alexis Romero, Jaime Laude