PRESIDENT Marcos Jr. wants military casualties avoided in operations in the wake of a recent clash with members of the terrorist Daulah Islamiyah-Maute Group in Lanao del Norte that left six soldiers dead, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr said yesterday
“We mourn and honor our brave soldiers who paid the ultimate price to protect the nation, and we extend our deepest sympathies and assurances of support to the bereaved families of our valiant troops,” said Teodoro.
Six soldiers from the Army’s 44th Infantry Battalion died and four others were injured during a clash with DI-MG members in an operation in Barangay Ramain in Munai, Lanao del Norte last February 18. Two members of the terrorist group died in the clash.
The group is blamed for the December 3 bombing at the Mindanao State University in Marawi City that left four people dead and 50 others injured.
“On instructions of the President, we are, together with the AFP, working hard to ensure that casualties are avoided. This is the best way to honor their sacrifice,” said Teodoro.
Teodoro commended the troops involved in the operation and similar efforts against members of the New People’s Army (NPA) in Negros Occidental and Bohol also last week.
Last Wednesday, three NPA rebels died in a clash with Army soldiers in Escalante City in Negros Occidental where the insurgents were reported conducting extortion activities. Four soldiers were injured in the encounter.
Last Friday, five NPA rebels also died in a firefight with soldiers and policemen in Bilar town in Bohol. A policeman was also killed and another policeman was injured.
One of the slain rebels was Hannah Jay Cesista, alias Maya, who finished law at the University of the Philippines-Lahug Cebu campus and passed the bar exam in 2022, the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division said.
Cesista is the wife of Parlito Segovia, alias Aldrin, an NPA assistant squad leader and political guide who also died in the same encounter.
The military said Cesista was a member of the Anakbayan-Cebu and a representative of the National Union of People’s Lawyer-Cebu before joining the NPA’s Bohol Provincial Party Committee in 2020.
The three others who died in the Bilar clash were Domingo Compoc, secretary of the BPC who is wanted for various charges that included murder and rebellion; squad member Marlon Omosura, alias Darwin; and another squad member who was identified only as alias Juaning.
“The Department of National Defense commends our Armed Forces for their efforts against members of the Daulah Islamiyah-Maute Group and the New People’s Army in separate encounters in Lanao del Norte, Negros Occidental, and Bohol this week,” said Teodoro.
“I especially laud our operatives who successfully pursued the suspects in last year’s tragic bombing in Mindanao State University,” said Teodoro, referring to the troops involved in the Munai, Lanao del Norte operation.
BBM’S VOW
The President vowed to strengthen the government’s fight against terrorist groups following the death of six soldiers during a clash with the Islamic State-linked Dawlah Islamiyah (DI) group in Munai in Lanao del Norte early this month.
In his latest vlog, the President said he will never forget the greatness and heroism of the soldiers who fought and perished in the line of duty, including the six soldiers who died in Munai.
Marcos vowed that the government would sustain the fight and “persecute the enemies of peace.”
“We promise to their loved ones, and the Filipino people, that we will make their orphans feel the love and recognition of the government for their sacrifice,” he said. — With Jocelyn Montemayor