7:00 AM June 2, 2001—I was barely 22 days as Brigade Commander in Basilan when the Dos Palmas Hostages were brought to Basilan after being kidnapped in Puerto Prinsesa. As I was about to approach the compound where the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) members were holed-up together with their hostages, I was fired upon by their snipers who were prepositioned on higher grounds and bullets would be hitting infront of me and on my sides. My soldiers had to grab and push me to the ground and take cover in a small canal along the road. A brief firefight ensued between my soldiers and the ASG. The compound was surrounded by AFP armed elements which was then a combination of our Scout Rangers, 18IB soldiers and members of the CAFGU. There were civilian armed elements who were waving to us to approach the compound but every time we got nearer, the ASG’s snipers would fire at us. I got nearly killed in the Lamitan Hostage Crisis but in the end I became the “scapegoat” for the bungled rescue operations which was dictated/closely directed by people who were in their “air-con” offices in Camp Aguinaldo and who “countermanded” my direct orders to my men in the battlefield. And the rest is history. The details of this incident will be in a book (hopefully) to be written by myself soon.
7:00 AM June 2, 2002—I was barely 52 days as the Brigade Commander in the areas covering the provinces of Nueva Ecija, Eastern Pangasinan, Bulacan, and Aurora when my convoy going to Aurora was ambushed by the NPA on the dirt road from Pantabangan to the boundary of Aurora Province. The V-150 “Commando” Vehicle at our tail end was “landmined” by a powerful “improvised explosive device” which made it to be thrown/overturned on its side. Two of my men, who rode inside the vehicle, died later in the hospital due to internal injuries brought about by the “shock & impact” of the explosion. Riding ahead of the convoy, I had to return to the site immediately and reinforced our troops who were trying to defend their lives from the sporadic fires of the insurgents positioned on the side of the mountain. The insurgents scampered to different directions and left the area after a brief firefight with my security/troops. No firearms were taken from the soldiers who were pinned down from the armored vehicle. The armored vehicle was later repaired and became operational after three months. After this incident, it became my “priority” to track down these insurgents through “guerrilla tactics” and “commando” operations which resulted to more raids and encounters (and casualties from the insurgents) in Nueva Ecija and in the mountains between Nueva Ecija and Aurora. My men were able to encounter the remnants of these insurgents as far as Casiguran and Dilasag, Aurora in the north and as far as Umiray, Aurora (between Aurora and Quezon Province) in the south. I hope I was able to give “justice” to my men who died in this incident, as these were the only casualties that I had within the two years & three months that I was the Brigade Commander in this area.
Since then, I reserved such date (June 2) to be with myself (alone!), go to the church, and stay in my quarters or in my camp not to be disturbed, thinking of the incidents that happened on these successive years. It was a coincidence, of course, and I am glad I passed these trials in my life…to become later as the “Bald Runner”!
Bald Runner 
Thank you for sharing that part of your life. The news dont tell you this and that is our reality. The more I know about Filipino soldiers, the greater respect I have for them. Does the family of those slain in combat get compensation and support from the government?
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I hope there will be no more coincidences of this nature with you BR.
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Yeah, they really crucified you and Romeo Dominguez there. But you did well to recover, all credit to you. Guinolbay, the field officer whose unit got pinned down in Lamitan is now the one on trial over an unrelated case if I am not mistaken.
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When I realized that you were the same commander in Lamitan my respect for you grew bigger as you have faced death so many times! What is a 10k or marathon compared to that? I hope writing about your experience will be a cathartic experience for you and will help improve the lot of our soldiers. More power and prayers to you BR!
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your post tugged at me a bit. i just can’t stop thinking of the hazards our filipino soldiers face, having to look at death in the eye 24/7 as part of their job description. i always think of my father and the perils he faced as a fighter pilot. until now i get that choke in my throat whenever i am reminded of the fact that he is a soldier, a pilot who flew in crappy aircraft as part of his duty. kung ang puhunan ng manunulat ay ang bawat katagang sinusulat niya, at ng mang-aawit ang kanyang tinig, tanging buhay lamang ng isang sundalo ang magsisilbing puhunan niya. walang labis, walang kulang.
thank you for posting about this. i hope this serves as an eye-opener for those with misconceptions about the military.
on another note, i also hold the 20th of august and 20th of october as significant dates in my life. share ko lang :p
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Hi BR,
Wow–talk about a small world. To refresh my memory, I searched for and found this piece from Helsingin Sanomat:
http://www2.hs.fi/english/archive/news.asp?id=20020201IE9
Your situation was just one big grey zone. Unfortunately, doing the right thing is sometimes not possible when collusion is involved. I hope you get the resolution you are looking for in the future.
Thank you for sharing your quiet day.
QS
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mark, thanks for the nice comments. a soldier who dies usually gets the usual burial expenses, mutual benefit funds, insurances, contributions, and pension to his benificiary–parents/or wife (if married). in addition, the benificiary receives 100K and house & lot in his province. his children & dependents are also given full school scholarships up to college.
cecil, as they say ” they could not make a good man down, forever”
marga, it’s liberating to talk about how i sacrificed my life & chose to serve the country and its people instead of choosing to live in comfort with my family in the United States, now that i am retired from the service. i agree completely on what you mentioned on your comment. we need more people in the military to express their views, opinions, insights, and their experiences while serving the country so that the people will be informed what the military is doing. i hate to say that the media we have only sensationalize things that embarass and negatively criticize the military. thanks!
qs, seven months after the lamitan incident, i was sent back to zamboanga city to lead a training directorate to oversee the planning and implementation of the 1st Balikatan Military Exercise between the RP & US Armed Forces and this is where i met the author, pekka. i gave him the impression that i was the only one “telling the truth” in the congressional investigation and in other formal investigations regarding the incident & he started his story from there. his story was nice and comprehensive but top leaderships in the AFP avoided answering pekka’s questions and some gave different answers. hopefully, writing my book will answer more questions and doubts about this incident. thanks for the comment!
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Qs, thanks for the link.
Br, I hope you do find closure to this or maybe you have thru what you’re doing now. There are things in life we have no control of. God will decide on those things when the time comes.
Saludo ako sa yo.
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mark, thanks! i am at peace with myself already and past is past..hey, how about joining an ultramarathon race soon?
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Thanks BR for sharing those important moments in your life… eagerly awaiting for your book 🙂
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Baldrunner, thanks for sharing your experience as a soldier. Your post reminded me of my late grandfather who, as a soldier in WWII, fought in Corregidor and survived the Bataan Death March. This is the reason why I have a great amount of respect and admiration for our men in uniform.
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Br,
Are you planning on the North face event? A similar ultramarathon event just finished in Singapore. I cannot even begin to imagine how it is to run 87 km for 11 to 12 hours…
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loony, i am sure the book will be published. thanks
carlo, thanks. your grandpa is more than a hero to me. his ordeal during the WWII is the highest form of supreme sacrifice a soldier has to experience/offer in service to his country.
mark, the schedule for the NF event here is too near and joining an ultra needs a lot of physical preparations, logistics and mental adjustments (we need to be crazy sometimes). i hope to experience joining one by next year.
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