Gold Cross medal recipients recall battle vs ASG in Bohol

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — “It was a fierce gunbattle with nobody wanting to surrender and ready to fight until death.”

That was how 1st Lieutenant Richard Paul Gobway, of the 33rd Division Reconnaissance Company (DRC), described the running gunbattle against the remnants of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) bandits, led by Joselito Melloria, in Clarin town of Bohol.

Melloria, assumed leadership of the ASG stragglers following the death of their leader Muamar Askali, alias Abu Rami, and four others during the April 11 armed encounter with the 47th Infantry Battalion in Inabanga, Bohol.

The clash in Clarin, almost two weeks after Abu Rami was killed in the Inabanga battle, also claimed the life of Melloria and two other ASG bandits. , on April 11 in the neighboring town of Inabanga.

Gobway, a member of the Philippine Military Academy Class 2015, and three other DRC troopers—Sergeant Remegio Bayoneta, and Privates First Class Leo Dumayac and Jay Abisado—were conferred Monday with Gold Cross Medals, during the 43rd founding anniversary of the 3rd Infantry Division at Camp Macario Peralta in Jamindan, Capiz.

Major General Harold Cabreros, Philippine Army vice commander and Maj. Gen. Jon Aying, 3rd ID commander, pinned the Gold Cross medals, the third highest medal for bravery of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, on Gobway, Bayoneta, Dumayac and Abisado.

Gobway said he thanked the Lord for giving him and his men a second chance to live, as none of them was even injured in Clarin, in what he called the “fiercest gunbattle” he had experienced so far.

Gobway said the running gunbattle took place at a distance of about 10 meters between the two forces. He also thanked 3rd ID families and relatives for their prayers, as they were unhurt in the series of running gunbattle.

Due to the proximity of combat, Gobway, who is an Ifugao, figured in a hand to hand combat with Melloria, whom he subdued, resulting in the death of the latter.

Aying, while admitting that the ASG bandits were seasoned fighters, said the training that the 3rd ID soldiers have acquired also proved that they are effective against any threats from the New People's Army, the ASG, and other lawless groups.

Gobway also became emotional and teary-eyed when asked for his reaction to being awarded the Gold Cross Medal. “I am thankful to God that he has given me a second life but I am saddened that we lost an officer and two other soldiers in the encounter,” he added. (FREEMAN)