MANILA, 21 August 2007 — The sound of jets landing and taking off near the Villamor Air Base was in stark contrast to the momentary silence that enveloped mourning relatives when heroes from Mindanao arrived in uniform caskets at nightfall yesterday.
The latest batch of casualties in the raging war between government troops and Abu Sayyaf extremists were flown to Manila by sundown, with an Air Force C-130 as their airborne hearse.
Those airlifted included 13 of 15 Marines slain in close-quarter combat on Saturday and an air force pilot whose attack helicopter crashed during the clash.
After their final journey from Zamboanga, the fallen soldiers were given a hero’s welcome at the air base, with top military and defense officials honoring each with a salute as they were unloaded from the cargo plane.
Each of their aluminum caskets was draped with the Philippine flag. On orders of AFP Chief of Staff Hermogenes Esperon, the slain soldiers were given posthumous one-rank promotions: 2nd lieutenants to first, privates first class to corporals and private to private first class.
Sobbing representatives of the families stood behind the casket as they were blessed by a priest one by one. Other relatives, who were kept inside the fronting terminal, made do with peeking through glass windows, their sobs muted from the distance.
Esperon and Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro condoled with family members one by one.
Alex Vergara, father of enlisted Marine Danilo, did not want to accept that his son was dead until he saw his son’s casket for himself.
“When I saw him, I had no choice but to accept it, even if it’s very painful. I just hope that [President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo] helps our family bring him back to Dumaguete, because we have no more money,” said Vergara, a maintenance supervisor at a provincial bus line. He last saw Danilo, second of his five children, a year ago and spoke to him on the phone last month before his son was dispatched to Basilan.
“I know that being a soldier is a dangerous job but I have seen many who have reached retirement. His life, on the other hand, is just up to here,” Vergara said.
Dorie Biadoma, aunt of Second Lt. Ermin Soloren, could not believe that the 22-year-old junior officer was gone.
“We were shocked. We did not know he was there. Who would think a fresh graduate would be killed? Young soldiers should be trained first before they are sent to combat,” said Biadoma, among Soloren’s relatives who came to receive his remains in the absence of his immediate family.
After the ceremony, other relatives who were kept inside the terminal were allowed to get close to their loved ones. Instantly, emotions poured.
Some quietly sobbed. Others could just not hold the mourning and screamed as they cried. They tried to get words out but they could be hardly understood.
Each of the caskets was then loaded into a hearse that would drive them straight to the Veronica Funeral Parlor in Pasay City.
The bodies of the 13 Marines were to be brought to their headquarters in Fort Bonifacio yesterday night. The pilot’s body was to remain at Villamor Air Base for the night.
