AN Army colonel who once headed the country’s peacekeeping mission in the troubled Golan Heights drowned while scuba diving in Misamis Oriental last Saturday, the military reported yesterday.
The Army’s 1st Infantry Division based in Zamboanga del Sur identified the fatality as Col. Nolie Anquilano, 54, the deputy commander of the Army’s 103rd Brigade in Marawi City in Lanao del Sur.
Capt. Mary Jepte Mañebog, spokeswoman of the Army’s 1st Infantry Division, said Anquillano participated in a scuba diving activity in Purok 6, Barangay Tubigan in Initao town at around 9:40 a.m. along with several staff members of the brigade who, like him, are “advanced scuba divers.”
Also participating in the diving activity were police officers who are dive classmates of Anquillano.
Mañebog said Anquillano, who was declared missing at around 10:20 or 40 minutes after diving, was retrieved by master divers at around 1:15 p.m. and brought to the Misamis Oriental Provincial Hospital-Initao where he was declared dead on arrival.
Mañebog said the PNP is conducting further investigation on the incident.
Anquillano commanded the Philippine peacekeeping force in strife-torn Golan Heights in 2012. Twenty-one of his men were seized by Syrian rebels on March 23, 2013 while delivering supplies to fellow peacekeepers but were released three days later.
