ZAMBOANGA CITY, 18 December 2005 — He is a living hero and his courage and exploits are a testimony, not to few, but to many members of the Philippine National Police.
His story has changed the lives of many people completely, and yet for the 47-year old cop, Rodelio Mendez Caballes, a Medal of Valor holder, there are still more things to do in the service of God and country.
“It was dark then, I remember people were running and scared and crying. Many men, armed with rifles, were all around our village, shooting at everyone they saw — men and women and children — and they were New People’s Army rebels, about 300 of them,” Caballes says.
He cannot forget the NPA raid in the village of San Rafael in Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur province, where he was assigned as a policeman in 1992.
“It was about 3:40 in the morning of Oct. 26, and the rebels entered the village, ransacking houses and attacking police and military posts. I stood my ground, my wife Sonia, helped me fight them off as my four small children in the house cried and prayed hard for a miracle to save all us,” he recalls.
Rebels have surrounded their house, threatening to burn it down if Caballes did not surrender. His wife, Sonia dela Reyes, then 32, helped him reload bullets into his M14 automatic rifle as he ran from one room to another to repel those trying to force their way through.
Sonia, a native of Zamboanga City, says she was armed with a .357-caliber revolver and was fighting side by side with her husband.
“There was nothing more we asked God but to save our children. We knew we were fighting not just for our own lives, but for the country,” Sonia says.
Caballes recalls that the rebels desperately tried to enter the house by breaking down the door with machine-gun fire and grenades. “After four hours of fighting, we learned later, at least 27 rebels lay dead and dozens more were wounded. The others retreated, but with a chilling warning that they will hunt me for the rest of my life,” he says.
Because of his courage and bravery, then President Fidel Ramos awarded Caballes in April 1993 the prestigious Medal of Valor.
Recipients of the award are entitled to certain privileges from the from the government, including free tuition for their children and a monthly allowance of 20,000-peso for the family.
The allowance used to be P200. It was only in 2001 that the amount was raised to P20,000, through a law signed by President Arroyo, when the media reported that the families of many of the country's Medal of Honor recipients, were wallowing in poverty.
The Medal of Valor is the highest military award given in the Philippines.
Caballes’ family now lives in Quezon town in the southwestern Philippine province of Palawan, his assignment.
News of his heroic exploits have followed him whereever he goes. His friends and colleagues say that Caballes is one living example of a good policeman, and his bravery and courage and dedication to his profession, have become a classic example for others to follow.
“Not only is Rodelio Caballes a dedicated police officer, he is also a good man. He is kind-hearted and is popularly known here in Palawan because of his brave exploits and good deeds to other people. He has also helped a lot of poor people,” says Chief Inspector Perla Baquel, the town police chief of Narra in Palawan.
For Caballes, being popular is not important. “What matters most is that you work honestly and earn a decent living and tell your children and friends that you are proud to be a policeman,” he says.
Caballes is one of the few living holders of the medal in the country.
And that also has come with a heavy price. Because of threats by rebels, Caballes’ wife and their children have been unable to see her aging mother for 14 long years.
The 79-year woman Eduvijis delos Reyes lives in a remote village in Zamboanga City. Sonia’s father, Teofisto dela Reyes, died from illness in 2002. “We never had the chance to go home (to faraway Zamboanga) for the burial of my father because of lack of money and the NPA threats,” she said.
Caballes’ meager salary has prevented the family from bringing his mother-in-law to Palawan.
“It is our only wish to be reunited with my mother, and we always pray to God to please help us bring her home and be with her before because she is too old now,” she says.
Sonia says despite their being poor, the family still manages to help the needy in Quezon town, be it food or medicines.
“I really don’t want to tell you this, but even our own food on the table goes to pople who come to the house and my husband would always tell us to be happy with what we give to the poor and in helping the others in whatever small ways we can,” Sonia says.
