Grateful Heart

I had been part of many major combat encounters against the Abu Sayyaf Group before and some of the encounters involved rescuing hostages.

One of the most brutal combat encounters we had was in Balatanay, Isabela, Basilan on October 7, 2001. We had walked the whole night in order to hit the objective given to us by intelligence sources. According to the information, Abu Sayyaf commanders Khadaffy Janjalani, Hamisaraji Salih, Isnilon Hapilon, and Abu Sabaya led the group that we were going after. We thought they may have the hostages. But whether they did or didn’t, we would always answer the call of duty. We always gave our best in every mission. This meant “paying the ultimate sacrifice” if the situation called for it.

On that day, we were operating with the troops under the irrepressible Cpt Harold “Bullseye 6” Cabunoc, who was the commander of the 10SRC, and Cpt Montano “Rambo 6” Almodovar, the Operations Officer of the 1SRB. Cpt Almodovar fought with me just a year before during the All-Out War in Matanog, Maguindanao. Both officers are members of PMA “Bantay-Laya” Class of 1994 and SR Class 121-95. They were heroes in many combat encounters. They are now Lieutenant Colonels and are still actively defending the freedom of our country.

To fight alongside known soldier-warriors is both an honor and privilege. I got to learn a lot from them, aside from being inspired. It was a rewarding experience to be with men who had fully embraced the military profession and everything that it entails. I could proudly say they were men who truly believed in the nobility of the profession of arms and that they sincerely adhere to what General Charles de Gaulle of France once said about “Military Professionalism”, “Men who adopt the profession of arms, submit of their own free will to the law of perpetual constraint of their own accord. They resist their right to live where they choose, to say what they think, to dress as they like, it needs but an order to settle them from their own family and dislocate their normal lives. In the world of command, they must rise, march, run, endure bad weather, go without sleep or food, be isolated in some distant post, work until they drop. They ceased to be the master of their own fate. If they drop in their tracks, if their ashes are scattered to the four winds, that is all part and parcel of their job.”

The two gentlemen would later make waves for themselves in the military in later years. Lt Col Cabunoc rose to become the commander of 33rd Infantry (Makabayan) Battalion in Central Mindanao and led his unit to be the reputable primary facilitator of peace and development - while battling terrorists and other lawless elements simultaneously - in their area of responsibility from 2017 to 2019. Lt Col Almodovar, on one hand, would outstandingly lead the 3rd Scout Ranger (Excelsior) Battalion deep behind enemy lines in the five-month long brutal Battle of Marawi in 2017 against ISIS-inspired terrorists.

Warriors at Work

We started to traverse the tropical jungle in darkness sometime past midnight. We walked all night struggling with fatigue and sleepiness. Before the first light of day, we rested for a bit and observed the mountainous and heavily vegetated surroundings. Our senses were heightened despite the lack of sleep and the discomfort. We knew that, as we observed the target area for any sign of the enemy, they were also monitoring us, observing their surroundings, and looking for us.

Soaked with dew and perspiration, some of the troops undid the buttons of their uniforms to relieve their heat and exhaustion. The brigade of assorted insects and other creatures in the jungle bothered us constantly. There were mosquitoes, leeches, and others that I didn’t even recognize. I had been around these insects for such a long time, but I never seemed to have gotten used to their presence and “show of affection.” They were fond of biting our exposed skin, so intimate with their buzzes and stings. “Perks and privileges of operating in the tropical jungles”, I thought in jest.

At about 6:30 A.M., Cpt Cabunoc communicated through the radio that we would be descending towards the shore where houses were sighted. He was the commander of the leading troops and I was the commander of the troops behind them.

He said, “Jordan 6, this is Bullseye 6, over.” 

“This is Jordan 6, go ahead, over.” I responded.

“Jordan 6, prepare to move. We will be moving downward. Houses were sighted but no identified movements so far, over.”

“Bullseye 6, wilco, over.”

My troops and I made eye contact amongst ourselves and relayed messages via hand signals. Everybody was automatically on his feet with his heavy pack and ammunition-filled bandoleer. I suddenly thought, “It would be nice to lie down in bed and sleep all day.” I looked around and speculated, “Hmmm, I think my companions are thinking the same, but we must take care of this extraordinary business first.” So we got up and started walking in file formation silently and tactically.

After about 30 minutes of painstaking and tactical-descent towards the houses, Cpt Cabunoc called me over the radio and gave updates for coordination purposes.

“Jordan 6, Bullseye 6.”

“This is Jordan 6, go ahead, over. 

“Jordan 6, we are now slowly approaching a cluster of abandoned houses. Be ready to fight. I can sense the inevitable”, said Bullseye 6 over the radio.

Suddenly, a barrage of gunfire was heard.

Brrrrrttttt!!! Boom!! Kablaammm!!

The sound of the lethal, uncoordinated, and out-of-tune war orchestra was at it again! Bullseye 6 and his Rangers were “warmly welcomed” with hot lead by the enemy while closing in on a cluster of seemingly-abandoned houses!

We responded with equal force. All hell broke loose! The deafening exchange of gun fire reverberated in the jungle. A new unusual fireworks display had began.

“Jordan 6, maneuver your troops to the right, over.”

Bullesye 6 directed me to outflank the enemy to the right by occupying a tactically advantaged position and close in on the enemy position.

“Copy, sir!”

By that time, the disorienting smell of gunpowder had already dominated the air. Everyone tried to get the best position possible in the raging firefight.

As we rushed downward and maneuvered to the right of the leading troops, we were met by a volley of gun fire and rifle grenades from higher ground. We estimated it was about 75 meters from our position. We quickly dropped to the ground and looked for good cover. The enemy was relentless!

Hell-bent on outdoing the enemy, we managed to counter fire and interchangeably provided suppressive fires so other troops could find better defensive positions. We also communicated by hand signals to effectively determine the exact location of the enemy and also to avoid compromising our radio communication.

Cpt Cabunoc gave me another order, “Jordan 6, move forward to my location, over.”

“Copy, sir”, I quickly replied.

The battle raged on. The deafening barrage of gun fire and grenades continued for what seemed to be forever.

“Bullseye 6, Jordan 6, over. We are confronting heavy enemy fire from the high ground to our right, over!”

Suddenly, Cpt Almodovar was heard on the radio. “Bullseye 6, Rambo 6, over! I will maneuver and occupy the high ground right of Jordan 6.”

The exchange of fire was steadily getting heavier by the minute. It appeared there was no end in sight soon. The chaotic combat situation had opened the door to more brutality.

After some time, which we curiously did not even notice, Cpt Almodovar was heard again on the radio. 

“Jordan 6, high ground occupied and secured, over!”

The enemy fighters who were on the high ground had retreated upon the fierce assault of Cpt Almodovar and his troops.

“Bullseye 6, Jordan 6, this is Rambo 6, over. We got the high ground to your right, over”

“Yes!” I breathed to myself immediately upon hearing the reassuring radio messages of Rambo 6. Then after a while, close air support came and started pounding identified enemy positions with bombs and rockets. Watching the deadly ‘fireworks’ brought upon by the Air Force pilots, I wondered how many families would again suffer with the loss of their fathers, husbands, sons, brothers, uncles in the battlefield. 

Though temporary, I felt a sigh of relief amid the chaos. It was a feeling worth a thousand relaxing full-body massages. That kind of combat relief was almost like the smell of the sweet aroma of my favorite coffee brewing.

We took advantage of the situation to eat some rice we cooked the night before we left the camp. Since we couldn’t leave our respective battle positions, the Tail Scout, responsible for keeping our cooked rice, divided the hardened rice, and passed it around by “throwing” fist-sized cold-rice to every Ranger. Each of us tried “catching” small portions of it. It was the best tasting rice I’ve ever eaten in my jungle days! We had not eaten since the night we left our camp, so it was a very satisfying moment for us. Precious food indeed. 

War Budies

Rambo 6 had once again lived up to his reputation. I recalled his combat exploits when we were together way back in 1997 to 1999, as we fought together against local communist fighters in the mountains of the Southern Tagalog area and in Mindoro Island. During the All-Out War in Maguindanao in 2000, he was also the commander of 17SRC that finished off the firefight after I had been wounded in that encounter.

For his part, Cpt Cabunoc did not seem to run out of fierceness in the thick of the battle. He audaciously led his men in clearing one house after the other. It was amazing to see him and his troops systematically clearing every nook and cranny of every house along our line of attack while we supported them. I said to myself, “Lord, thank you for surrounding me with these men of valor. I couldn’t ask for better war buddies than them.”

The leading troops steadily gained ground as the enemy-fighters started to withdraw. My troops moved forward alongside Cpt Cabunoc’s. When we reached the suspected main battle position of the enemy, we hastily assaulted it with our guns blazing and us shouting at the top of our lungs with the intent of confusing the enemy, or making them think that we had gone suicidal and that there was no stopping a bunch of crazy-gung-ho soldiers like us.

It was a bloody mess as our troops and the enemy outgunned each other. Each wanted to beat the other to the draw, sending them to kingdom come the fastest.

After more than 6 hours of heavy fighting with more or less 100 enemy-fighters, everyone was accounted for. There were 17 Scout Rangers wounded in action, but no one was in a serious condition. We learned later from intelligence sources that 15 enemy-fighters were killed and 21 others were wounded. We recovered an M60E3 light machine gun (LMG) that the enemy hurriedly left in the bullet-riddled mosque. Evidently, they had tried to make the mosque their defensive position because it was made of concrete. From the mosque, we also recovered assorted types of ammunition and numerous items with high military intelligence value.

Before dusk, and through effective radio communication and coordination, we declared the immediate vicinity of the encounter site secured after a thorough and synchronized clearing operation. Now we could rest, and possibly get back to camp for a refreshing shower, hot meals, and even ice-cold beers – a luxury and a dream for every soldier after every bloody battle.

Merciful God

In the aftermath of the battle, fatigue and hunger were all over our faces. I had a throbbing headache. The long exposure to the elements, the on-edge emotions and most of all, the brutality of the whole thing had taken their toll on me.

We tried to eat some rice and canned sardines we had packed the night before. This time, without hiding from the bullets of the enemy, unlike what we did during the firefight. “Food never tasted this good,” I imagined. Gratitude filled my heart. I thought: “We are alive...and eating the best locally-manufactured canned-sardines we could afford!” 

That was one of the bloodiest encounters that I experienced – next to what I went through the year before in Matanog, Maguindanao where I was seriously wounded and almost died. Both encounters were close calls. I did not have any inkling of what God had in store for me in the days and years to come.

“Because he loves me, says the Lord, I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.” Psalms 91:14 (NIV)

I thought, “I don’t even love Him as I should. I also didn’t acknowledge Him as I ought to.” He is just plainly gracious, merciful, forgiving, and faithful. He continued to try to get my attention, and was overwhelmingly forbearing with me.

“If we are faithless, He will remain faithful, for He cannot disown himself.” 2 Timothy 2:13 (NIV)

I was in awe of God’s greatness and his amazing grace. 

--THE RESCUE (2019)