Post by gunblue on Jan 24, 2007 14:07:15 GMT 8
By Dona Pazzibugan
Inquirer
Last updated 03:01am (Mla time) 01/24/2007
THEY NUMBERED only a little over two dozen, some of them were already dead and most of the rest were wounded. About 200 Abu Sayyaf bandits were closing in on them.
But the young Marines were united by one resolve: There would be no retreat, they would go down together.
“I looked to my side, one of my men was dead. On my other side, one was wounded. Behind me, someone had blood gushing from his face,” 2nd Lt. Romulo Dimayuga said yesterday, recalling the battle in Sulu province last Sept. 4 in which his men killed top Abu Sayyaf leader Khadaffy Janjalani.
“But (our) will to fight was unmatchable. Even though wounded, we were firing back,” the platoon leader of the 27-man elite Marine Force Reconnaissance Class 12 told reporters.
Despite the overwhelming force his platoon faced, Dimayuga said he and his men never considered retreating.
“We held the line. We could not retreat because we were going to leave many behind. I will not leave any Marines behind,” he said.
“We agreed that whatever happened, if it was going to end here, we’d go down together.”
The 24-year-old Dimayuga stared ahead unblinking as he spoke.
Pfc. Jovelito Manalili, 26, who served as navigator, said his unit was very close-knit, its members having known each other for some time before they started a nine-month rigorous training.
Heavy price
Six of Dimayuga’s men died in the pre-dawn clash in Patikul town in Sulu. But the Abu Sayyaf paid dearly for testing the Marines’ mettle.
A post-battle military report said 67 Abu Sayyaf bandits were killed in that encounter, including Janjalani.
It was the first time that Class 12 had suffered casualties since it was deployed to Sulu last Aug. 1, fresh from graduation.
Dimayuga said it was a “great honor” for the platoon to have killed Janjalani but he expressed sadness at the death of his six fellow Marines.
“Their deaths were not in vain because it had a very positive outcome, we got the leader of the Abu Sayyaf,” he simply said.
Those who were killed were Cpl. Ryan Socrates, team leader; Cpl. Judy Gatan, team leader; Pfc. Isagani Zamora, gunner; Jayson Paiton, point man; Harold Almodovar, radio man, and Gilbert Parcia, assistant team leader.
CLOSE ENCOUNTER: This is where the bullets from the Janjalani camp hit 2nd Lt. Romulo Dimayuga, which Pfc. Jovelito Manalili shows broadcaster Mike Enriquez on Tuesday. Last Sept. 4, the Marines, led by Dimayuga, attacked Janjalani in Indanan, Sulu. Six of his men were killed. RAFFY LERMA
Sixteen members of the platoon were wounded, including Dimayuga and Manalili.
One soldier is still in the hospital requiring major surgery for a splintered bone in the arm.
The death of Janjalani, whose bandit group had been linked by the United States to Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda network, was confirmed only last week following DNA tests conducted by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The tests matched samples taken from the remains dug up in Barangay Kabuntakas in Patikul, some 2 km from the battle site, with saliva samples taken from Janjalani’s brother Hector, who is serving a life term for kidnapping.
Dimayuga, who graduated from the Philippine Military Academy in 2005, said his unit tracked down Janjalani’s camp based on intelligence information provided to the 3rd Marine Brigade under Brig. Gen. Juancho Sabban.
Threat remains
Dimayuga showed no interest in the idea of a movie being made out of his platoon’s feat.
“I will let higher-ups decide on that,” he said.
Amid military claims that the killing of Janjalani could signal the end of the bandit group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front yesterday said Janjalani’s death was not a guarantee that there would be peace in the south.
“It appears that Janjalani still has supporters at large. So, the problem with them remains,” MILF spokesperson Eid Kabalu told the Philippine Daily Inquirer, parent company of INQUIRER.net.
But Kabalu conceded that Janjalani’s death was a setback for the Abu Sayyaf and could deter those intending to join the group.
Kabalu also said the MILF central committee had agreed to help in the crackdown on the Abu Sayyaf and that MILF chair Ebrahim Murad had directed his men to deny the group sanctuary.
Copyright 2007 Inquirer. All rights reserved.
Inquirer
Last updated 03:01am (Mla time) 01/24/2007
THEY NUMBERED only a little over two dozen, some of them were already dead and most of the rest were wounded. About 200 Abu Sayyaf bandits were closing in on them.
But the young Marines were united by one resolve: There would be no retreat, they would go down together.
“I looked to my side, one of my men was dead. On my other side, one was wounded. Behind me, someone had blood gushing from his face,” 2nd Lt. Romulo Dimayuga said yesterday, recalling the battle in Sulu province last Sept. 4 in which his men killed top Abu Sayyaf leader Khadaffy Janjalani.
“But (our) will to fight was unmatchable. Even though wounded, we were firing back,” the platoon leader of the 27-man elite Marine Force Reconnaissance Class 12 told reporters.
Despite the overwhelming force his platoon faced, Dimayuga said he and his men never considered retreating.
“We held the line. We could not retreat because we were going to leave many behind. I will not leave any Marines behind,” he said.
“We agreed that whatever happened, if it was going to end here, we’d go down together.”
The 24-year-old Dimayuga stared ahead unblinking as he spoke.
Pfc. Jovelito Manalili, 26, who served as navigator, said his unit was very close-knit, its members having known each other for some time before they started a nine-month rigorous training.
Heavy price
Six of Dimayuga’s men died in the pre-dawn clash in Patikul town in Sulu. But the Abu Sayyaf paid dearly for testing the Marines’ mettle.
A post-battle military report said 67 Abu Sayyaf bandits were killed in that encounter, including Janjalani.
It was the first time that Class 12 had suffered casualties since it was deployed to Sulu last Aug. 1, fresh from graduation.
Dimayuga said it was a “great honor” for the platoon to have killed Janjalani but he expressed sadness at the death of his six fellow Marines.
“Their deaths were not in vain because it had a very positive outcome, we got the leader of the Abu Sayyaf,” he simply said.
Those who were killed were Cpl. Ryan Socrates, team leader; Cpl. Judy Gatan, team leader; Pfc. Isagani Zamora, gunner; Jayson Paiton, point man; Harold Almodovar, radio man, and Gilbert Parcia, assistant team leader.
CLOSE ENCOUNTER: This is where the bullets from the Janjalani camp hit 2nd Lt. Romulo Dimayuga, which Pfc. Jovelito Manalili shows broadcaster Mike Enriquez on Tuesday. Last Sept. 4, the Marines, led by Dimayuga, attacked Janjalani in Indanan, Sulu. Six of his men were killed. RAFFY LERMA
Sixteen members of the platoon were wounded, including Dimayuga and Manalili.
One soldier is still in the hospital requiring major surgery for a splintered bone in the arm.
The death of Janjalani, whose bandit group had been linked by the United States to Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda network, was confirmed only last week following DNA tests conducted by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The tests matched samples taken from the remains dug up in Barangay Kabuntakas in Patikul, some 2 km from the battle site, with saliva samples taken from Janjalani’s brother Hector, who is serving a life term for kidnapping.
Dimayuga, who graduated from the Philippine Military Academy in 2005, said his unit tracked down Janjalani’s camp based on intelligence information provided to the 3rd Marine Brigade under Brig. Gen. Juancho Sabban.
Threat remains
Dimayuga showed no interest in the idea of a movie being made out of his platoon’s feat.
“I will let higher-ups decide on that,” he said.
Amid military claims that the killing of Janjalani could signal the end of the bandit group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front yesterday said Janjalani’s death was not a guarantee that there would be peace in the south.
“It appears that Janjalani still has supporters at large. So, the problem with them remains,” MILF spokesperson Eid Kabalu told the Philippine Daily Inquirer, parent company of INQUIRER.net.
But Kabalu conceded that Janjalani’s death was a setback for the Abu Sayyaf and could deter those intending to join the group.
Kabalu also said the MILF central committee had agreed to help in the crackdown on the Abu Sayyaf and that MILF chair Ebrahim Murad had directed his men to deny the group sanctuary.
Copyright 2007 Inquirer. All rights reserved.
