President Duterte awards wounded soldiers in Sulu

By Jong Cadion

ZAMBOANGA CITY (April 7, 2017) - Twenty-eight (28) soldiers of the 41st Infantry Battalion under the Joint Task Force Sulu were accorded the Wounded Personnel Medal by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte during his visit in Sulu yesterday, military official said.

Western Mindanao Command Information Officer Cpt. Jo-Ann D. Petinglay disclosed that the soldiers of the 41st Infantry Battalion, including the battalion commander and a junior officer, were recognized by the President after sustaining wounds in a three-hour fierce gun battle with an estimated 100 members of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), yielding to the deaths of 10 Abu Sayyaf bandits and the seizure of two (2) high-powered firearms, in Barangay Upper Laus, Talipao last Sunday (April 2).

Awarded were Lieutenant Colonel William George Cordova, the battalion commander of the 41IB; 1st Lieutenant Joe Mari Landicho; Sergeant Randy Balutoc; Sergeant Samian Calangan; Corporal Crispin Agoy; Corporal BrainardDumondon; Corporal Ronald Allan Lorenzo; Corporal Jonathan Mukay; Corporal Mariel Reboredo; Corporal Ruben Olaso; Private First Class JomarAvero; Private First Class Randy Culhi; Private First Class John Joseph Diaz; Private First Class James Layugan; Private First Class Daniel Paclay; Private First Class RebushseinBabo Stock; Private First Class Ronald Tabliago; Private First Class Jun Terrenal; Private First Class Kristian Ayangao; Private First Class Jomar Yap; Private First Class Jomer Dalayday; Private First Class YasherBayongan; Private First Class Emerson Awingan; Private RoymanTalana; Private Julius Ancheta; Private Michael XedricAdriatico; Private Judie Domingo; and Private Jeffrey Viernes.

Cpt. Petinglay added that four (4) other soldiers who sustained gunshot wounds were brought to the Camp Navarro General Hospital and a private hospital in Zamboanga City on April 2. Private First Class Freddie Anggaco, Private First Class Ryan Maymaya, Private First Class Bobbyn Pacas, and Private Eugene Pagat are currently in stable condition after undergoing medical procedures.

The armed engagement ensued in the middle of the intensified conduct of military operations launched by the Joint Task Force Sulu, in the hope of rescuing the Vietnamese kidnap victims and to neutralize the bandits.

Cpt. Petinglay said that President Duterte was accompanied by General Eduardo M. Año, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines; Lieutenant General Glorioso Miranda, Commanding General, Philippine Army; Lieutenant General Carlito G. Galvez, Jr. Commander, Western Mindanao Command; Major General Danilo Pamonag, Commander of the Special Operations Command; Brigadier General Rolando Joselito Bautista, Commander of the Joint Task Force ZamPeLan; Brigadier General Custudio Parcon, Jr., Commander, Joint Task Force Tawi-Tawi; and Col Glen Paje, Regiment Commander of the First Scout Ranger Regiment.

The said awarding was held at the Kuta Heneral Teodulfo Bautista Hospital in Busbus, Jolo, Sulu yesterday afternoon.

"Our troops are very motivated to carry on their duties, because they know the Commander-in-Chief, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, supports them," said Lieutenant General Carlito G. Galvez, Jr., Commander of the Western Mindanao Command.

"Most of our soldiers who sustained minor wounds already want to go back to the fields to hunt the Abu Sayyaf and rescue the remaining hostages."

"We are overwhelmed by the support and the attention our Commander-in-Chief is showing our soldiers, and this will all the more propel us to do our job with utmost enthusiasm," added LtGen. Galvez. 

 

 

Earlier yesterday, the Chief of Staff donned new rank insignias to the newly promoted Generals: Major General Galvez to Lieutenant General; and Colonel Cirilito Sobejana, Jr. and Colonel Jose Faustino, Jr. to Brigadier General in an informal but momentous ceremony in Jolo, Sulu. The newly promoted Generals are the military Commanders who are successfully leading soldiers in the country's southern frontier against the Abu Sayyaf, Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, and other local and foreign terrorist groups.

General Año congratulated the newly promoted Generals and openly recognized their sacrifices in his speech. Afterwards, the AFP Chief also talked to the men and women of the Joint Task Force Sulu as the military operations against the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) are intensified in the province.