MULANAY, Quezon
–In the bloody battles experienced by Army soldiers all over the
archipelago, even warriors have wept a tear for their fallen enemies.
This
is what Corporal Rishman Ballasta, 30, experienced after a fierce
firefight with at least 15 rebels in Bgy. White Cliff, San Narciso,
Quezon on June 30, 2012.
Ballasta
was leading 10 other soldiers in a security patrol to locate the
heavily-armed rebels who allegedly extorted money from the villagers.
It was around 11:00am when the soldiers spotted the armed men, resting in a hut.
They were approaching the hut when staccatos of gunfire broke the silence, sending them to drop for cover.
He
commanded his soldiers to return fire at the communist rebels who came
out one by one with their guns blazing, hitting one of his men.
He directed some of his men to secure the flanks and provide cover as the medics treated the wounded soldier.
Seeing some of the rebels lay lifeless a few meters from his location, he directed his troops to cease firing.
"I
asked the remaining rebels to lay down their weapons and raise their
hands. They kept on firing at us, wounding another soldier," said
Ballasta.
"Lumaban tayo mga kasama, kakaunti lang sila at mga bata pa ang mga iyan (Lets fight them comrades, these are young soldiers and there are only a few of them)," came the orders from the NPA commander.
More shots were fired at the soldiers, bullets plowing their positions , wounding one of them.
Left with no choice, Ballasta and his men returned fire as they gradually approached the enemy positions.
Sensing that the gun firing from the rebels faded away after almost an
hour of intense exchange of gunfires, he commanded the team to clear the
encounter site.
By that time, he realized that they killed 11 of the rebels, some of
whom were obviously 'child warriors', one of whom was a female rebel.
Real warriors also cry
Real warriors also cry
While gathering all the dead rebels, tears flowed in the eyes of his
soldiers, seeing innocent-looking young boys among the bloody corpses
lying on the ground, still carrying their bandoleers and rifles.
Among the dead were identified through their ID cards including a young female combatant, Maricel Benegas, 17, and Benjo Endonilla, 17.
Among the dead were identified through their ID cards including a young female combatant, Maricel Benegas, 17, and Benjo Endonilla, 17.
“I
thought of the families they have left behind. The parents and siblings
of those poor souls who were duped by the communists came to mind ,”
Ballasta said, tears welling in his eyes.
He said that he did not really want to wipe out the whole armed group.
"Amidst the hail of bullets, I negotiated for their surrender. I was frustrated that they responded with flying bullets," he said.
"Amidst the hail of bullets, I negotiated for their surrender. I was frustrated that they responded with flying bullets," he said.
Ballasta said that shedding tears for the rebels is not a sign of weakness.
"I
felt the pain suffered by the grieving relatives for the death of their
loved ones as the news about the incident unfold. I also cried in anger
because the communists deceived the young boys into believing that the
problems in our society can be resolved by perpetrating atrocities
against government forces," he explained.
He said that he is proud even if it would be known to the whole world
that the soldiers' eyes have filled with tears while fighting fellow
Filipinos.
"We are not happy shooting our misguided kababayans (countrymen) during clashes. We will always try our best to convince them to peacefully surrender and cooperate with the government in solving our problems," he concluded.
"We are not happy shooting our misguided kababayans (countrymen) during clashes. We will always try our best to convince them to peacefully surrender and cooperate with the government in solving our problems," he concluded.
Deceitful means
While the soldiers arranged the funeral of the dead rebels at St.
Peter Funeral Homes in San Narciso town, representatives of KARAPATAN-Quezon persuaded the families to
let them bring the dead rebels to Manila "so they can be given decent burial and
their death be honored".
The
group explained that dead rebels were 'innocent civilians' killed by
the soldiers and that the group will help so that justice must be
served.
Lt Melchor Zarandona, the CMO officer of the 74th IB had the chance to talk with the grieving relatives.
"The family members of the dead child warriors declined the offer that
the dead be honored in Manila. The relatives were frustated that their
children were recruited as NPA rebels and not as ordinary workers
according to their (children) claims ," said Zarandona.
Maria
Liza Guevarra, 45, the aunt of one of the slain rebel named Jerome
Guevara, 24, could not hide her anger for the death of her nephew.
“I despise the
NPA rebels. Why do they have to involve innocent people in whatever 'cause' they are fighting for?”
Hero soldiers
To
recognize the laudable accomplishments of the 74th IB led by Lt Col
Dennis Perez, Army chief Lt Gen Emmanuel Bautista took time to visit the
soldiers in their field headquarters here on July 12, 2012.
He lauded the gallantry and compassion that the soldiers have shown during the
encounter and conferred recognition medals to the brave soldiers.
He took notice of the fact that the 74IB troops also spared the lives of
two child combatants who were captured in an encounter with a small
band of rebels in March 2012.
“These men and all others like them are the pride and honor of our
country. They shrug-off any danger just to protect the people and keep the
peace in the land,” said
Bautista.
Bautista has also called on the soldiers to convince the communist rebels to go back to the folds of the law.
“We
must continuously encourage the remaining armed rebels in Quezon to
peacefully surrender and cooperate with the government. We can only move
forward as a nation if we help each other solve our problems,” he said.
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