Wounded soldier sucks own blood to survive Basilan clash

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines - Wounded and forced to endure long hours of fighting in a Basilan town on Saturday, a soldier had to suck the blood from his own chest to keep from hemorrhaging, he said Sunday.

Sgt. Erico Paglinawan of the 44th Infantry Battalion said this while confined at the Camp Navarro General Hospital (CNGH) inside the Western Mindanao Command (Wesmincom) headquarters in Camp General Basilio Navarro in this city. Paglinawan is one of more than 50 soldiers wounded in the fierce gunbattle, which lasted for 10 hours on Saturday.

The wounded soldier disclosed that they were on mission against a high-value target when their lead platoon was hit by a land mine set up by Moroccan bomb expert and jihadist Mohammad Khattab at Sitio Bayoko, Barangay Baguindan, Tipo-Tipo town.

The landmine exploded about 7:55 a.m. and killed five soldiers and wounded several others. Wesmincom has said, however, that there were no landmines in the clash area and that the blast craters were from mortars and grenades used by the Abu Sayyaf.

The explosion was succeeded by a volley of gunfire and M203 grenades that wounded many soldiers, including platoon leader Lt. Remegio Licena, who is among those who died in battle.

Paglinawan said he was wounded in the chest after he was hit by direct fire.

“I saw my blood oozing, and I was afraid I might succumb from hemorrhage. So I sipped my blood,” Paglinawan said. According to the US Army Medical Department Center and School, hemorrhage -- or rapid bleeding -- is the leading cause of preventable death on the battlefield. It said that of 25 percent of battlefield casualties with survivable injuries, 90 percent of deaths are due to hemorrhage.

Paglinawan said that despite being wounded, he managed to fight and help keep their position from being completely overrun by the Abu Sayyaf.

Maj. Filemon Tan Jr., Wesmincom spokesperson, said the injured Lt. Licena managed to fend off attackers before being killed.

“It was almost a close-quarter combat,” Tan said citing accounts from the wounded soldiers. He said the soldiers and the Abu Sayyaf were around 10 meters away from each other.

Another wounded soldier, SSgt Eduardo Capalac, said the enemy was already in position and ready to attack as government troops approached the area.

“We were met by several snipers and enemies were already in the C formation as evidenced by the volleys of fire coming from all sides of our approach,” Capalac said.

He said the hail of bullets caused many casualties before government troops managed to retaliate.