Military honors soldier killed by Sayyaf

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – The military yesterday accorded funeral honors to an elite Army Special Forces officer, the first casualty of the year in the military’s fight against the Abu Sayyaf in the jungles of Basilan. 

Capt. Clinton Capio was shot during a nine-hour firefight between the military and the bandit group in Barangay Cabcaban, Sumisip town on Thursday.

The troops clashed with 60 to 80 Abu Sayyaf members led by Furuji Indama. The military forces launched the attack following intelligence reports of a big formation of bandits in the area.

Capio was commanding officer of the 1st Special Forces Company assigned to augment the 4th Special Forces Battalion to help run after remnants of the Abu Sayyaf in Basilan.

Western Mindanao Command spokesman Maj. Filemon Tan Jr. said the soldiers led by Capio were closing in for an assault when Capio was hit by enemy fire.

“During the first few minutes of the firefight, there were troops wounded. Captain Capio was not yet hit at the time. Their task was to help the soldiers who were pinned down, so they provided suppressive fire so the wounded could withdraw and then advanced. It was two hours in the gunfight that he was hit,” 1Lt. Ron JR Villarosa, civil military officer of the 4th Special Forces Battalion, told The STAR.

Capio was killed by a single enemy bullet that grazed the right side of his temple barely a centimeter from the cover of his Kevlar helmet.

“He was wearing helmet but the angle of the cap might had been in an open position because they were moving in for assault when he was unfortunately hit,” Tan said.

Capio was a member of the Philippine Military Academy class of 2006. His remains would be flown to Baguio, his hometown, via C-130 military plane.

Capio’s fellow soldiers said they would always remember him as a fighting leader who never let his troops down.

“He was a very soft-spoken person, a gentleman, an officer and definitely a fighting leader” who “fights from the front,” Villarosa said.

“His fellow troops and team leader describe him as a fatherly figure… They can’t say anything bad about him. He is really a very capable leader,” he added.

Army spokesman Col. Benjamin Hao described Capio as a “silent-type kind of person” who was “very dedicated in his work and the task given him.” 

“He was also the TARZAN (he topped the physical fitness) during their ranger course. – With Michael Punongbayan, Jaime Laude