‘We didn’t want to neutralize Edris, but…’

KABUNTALAN, Maguindanao — "Trabaho lang, walang personalan (It’s just a job, nothing personal)."

This was how Capt. Cristobal Perez, chief of the 34th Military Intelligence Company (MICO), described his experience in working out, along with three subordinates, the arrest of escaped Abu Sayyaf member Adbul Mukin Edris in Sultan Naga Dimaporo, Lanao del Sur the other week.

The 34th MICO is the main intelligence unit of the Army’s First Infantry "Tabak" Division under Gen. Trifonio Salazar.

"We didn’t want to neutralize him, but he (Edris) and his companions grabbed the firearm of one of us and shots rang out. In such a situation, we can’t do anything but protect ourselves," Perez told The STAR.

Edris and his Maranaw companion, who was also killed in the incident, first volunteered to lead Perez’s group to the supposed hideout of Indonesian bomb expert Fathur Rohman Al-Ghozi, in a secluded barangay in Sultan Naga Dimaporo.

"The incident took place so fast. We had no other choice," Perez said.

Perez, who graduated from the Philippine Military Academy in 1993, said it took his unit more than a week to locate Edris in Sultan Naga Dimaporo.

"It also took us time to coordinate with our counterparts in the 4th Infantry Division for us to be able to enter Lanao del Norte, which is under the jurisdiction of the 4th ID. The accomplishment was a joint initiative of the 1st and 4th IDs," he said.

President Arroyo awarded Perez and his three subordinates — T/Sgts. Alexander de los Santos, Jovito de los Reyes and Angel Abaniel — with the Gold Cross each in an emotion-filled ceremony here last Thursday. Perez said they were grateful for the President’s gesture.

The President told military and local officials, who witnessed the event, that she was proud with how Perez and his subordinates risked their lives just to find Edris.

"It’s nice to see our soldiers in the field do their best to fight terrorism and perform other peacekeeping functions," Mrs. Arroyo said during the awarding ceremony, which capped her sortie in Barangay Balong here to assess the ongoing hunt for Al-Ghozi.

Combatants of the 6th ID have been scouring marshy spots here to search for Al-Ghozi, who reportedly escaped to this province from Lanao del Norte following the deaths of Edris and his Maranaw companion.

Al-Ghozi, Edris and another Abu Sayyaf member escaped from the custody of the Philippine National Police (PNP) Intelligence Group at Camp Crame last July 14.