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All soldiers who fought in Albarka in Basilan on Tuesday are accounted for. Private First Class Michael Natividad, the last survivor of the encounter the military and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is now in Camp Navarro Hospital inside the Western Mindanao Command.

Even as they have been wounded and are still recovering, the surviving soldiers still want to return to... the battlefield.

Natividad is still obviously tired from almost three days of hiding and trying to escape from the encounter site in Albarka.

He related how he and Lt. Jose Delfin Khe got separated from the rest of the troops at the height of the firefight. At the time, he said Khe was already fighting for his life as he sustained gunshot wounds in the thigh and chest. Before he died, he only had one instruction for Natividad: “Pag malapit na sila, tumakbo ka na (When they come close, just run).”

Natividad said the MILF fighters were able to come very close to them because as the firefight went on, they had to fight off more MILF members while their ammunition was being used up fast.

And in his escape in search of his mother unit, he stayed away from civilians and moved only at night, hiding during day time.

“Iniisip ko mga kasama ko...sana ligtas sila (I thought of my comrades…I wished they were safe),” Natividad said.

Earlier this morning, he reached the river and swam until a passing fishing boat saw him.

“Lumangoy ako mula 6 hanggang 9:30…laking pasalamat ko na mabait yung mangingisda na nakakita sa akin (I swam from 6 to 9:30…I was super grateful to the good fisherman who saw me),” he said.

The fisherman took Natividad to the nearest detachment of the Special Forces in Albarka. He was then airlifted by a helicopter to the Camp Navarro Hospital for the shrapnel wounds he sustained on his legs, face, and back.

Natividad is a Scout Ranger, and part of the military scuba diving course class 42. He was on a test mission in Albarka. He said this was his first encounter as a soldier, in his first day in Basilan.

But even as he is still recovering from his wounds, he does not hesitate to say that he would return to Albarka.

“Kung yun po ang order (If that is the order),” he said.

This is a sentiment shared his fellow survivors.

“I will return to avenge the death of my fellow soldiers,” said PFC Sherwin Domingo.

The remains of the 19 fallen soldiers are scheduled to be flown back tonight to the Villamor Air Base, where they will be given full military honors before they will be taken to the Philippine Army headquarters in Fort Bonifacio tomorrow.

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"It's time for PNoy to do an Erap. Peace in Mindanao cannot be achieved unless a tactical victory is attained first by the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines)," Lacson said in a text message to reporters.

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'Untie the hands'

Still, Lacson said that it is time to "untie the hands" of our soldiers and authorize them to fight the MILF on equal terms and not "handicapped" by the peace talks "characterized by treachery and deceit."

"It is odd that our territorial integrity is being threatened from within. The belligerence of the MILF is something that we deserve because we continue to give them that status," he said.

"There is only one Armed Forces of the Philippines under only one commander-in-chief. Any other armed group outside the AFP and the PNP and other law enforcement agencies must be considered as enemy of the state and should be treated as such under existing laws of the republic. It is difficult for our soldiers to understand why they should not be allowed to patrol or conduct military exercises in any part of their area of jurisdiction," he added.

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Six government security forces, including three soldiers and three cops, were killed while eight others were wounded following two ambuscades staged by suspected Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels in Zamboanga Sibugay in a span of five hours, a military report said Friday.

The successive attacks came two days after 19 soldiers, including four junior officers, were killed in an encounter with suspected MILF rebels in Basilan.

The military report said the first ambush was staged at 7:21 p.m. Thursday in Barangay Gulayon in Alicia town.

The attack resulted in the death of three soldiers and the wounding of six others — all belonging to elements of the 102nd Brigade.

...

The second attack transpired 12:15 a.m. Friday when suspected MILF rebels fired at a joint military-police patrol in Barangay Simbol in Kabasalan town.

Three policemen were killed while two others, a cop and an Army private, were wounded.

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"We should continue with the peace process. But there are options. For instance, we can be selective in observing the ceasefire," he said in an interview on dzBB radio.

He (Army spokesman Col. Antonio Parlade Jr.) suggested that troops be given more flexibility to operate especially in areas where the MILF does not follow the ceasefire rules.

iced_man21

Oct 21 2011, 11:27 AM

Even if I am demoralized by this debacle, I am still a soldier and will still fight for the freedom of my countrymen and the territorial integrity of my country. I hope that our political leader show the same mettle. It has been said that the armed forces are merely an instrument of the state. That is precisely correct, so please, let us have more upright leaders with "balls" who will not waver from their campaign promises to gain political and media points or "papogi" and will not spend more time discussing their lovelifes than the state of the country or its own Armed Forces.

spearhead

Oct 21 2011, 08:26 AM

Hitman

Oct 21 2011, 06:48 AM

its really hard now because the moro guerillas seem to have mastered the terrain in their areas of operation as normally guerillas do and the art of guerilla warfare. as you have read in news in afghanistan the taliban already shot down 2 CH 42 choppers there filled with special operators. same thing in any counter insurgency opn, the choppers will be very vulnerable in dropping reinforcements including medevacs. with rpgs and 50 cal sniper rifles can shoot down these choppers. the only thing the choppers can do is fly high and get exact location of main body of the rebels from troops on the ground and pepper them with rockets and missiles but to fly low during the heat of battle is very dangerous.

what the Army can do is only send a 7 man recon teams of SRs or SFs and find the camps or temp encampments or locate company size rebels in the jungles and then call for an airstrike. the recon teams should avoid contact with the enemy. their mission is just combat intel, locate the enemy and report to CP or HQ for air strikes. this will minimize casualties on the government forces. with the enemy mastering their territory it wil be hard for any unit to enter without being detected not knowing they are entering a trap and killing zones.

I like what you just said. Were you playing some Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 or something?