The explosion at the Night Market in Davao left 14 dead and 70 wounded. While the Abu Sayyaf have claimed responsibility for it, they also claimed 15 of our troops in an encounter just the week before that event. Among those killed was a young officer.
Today’s guest is Brigadier General Restituto Padilla, AFP spokesperson for our show, (10-11am) “Kasangga Mo Ang Langit”, on DZRJ 810khz, 8 TriMedia Network.
Small Victory
15 of our army soldiers have been killed in a major offensive against the Abu Sayyaf, while taking 21 casualties on the enemy’s side. This is a large loss, a first under President Duterte’s leadership. We are still taking in losses as continue to move into enemy territory.
Series Of Encounters
We have had a series of encounters prior to losing these men. The clash started in the morning, 9am then again around lunch. It was after that, that we started to incur losses. Our 21st and 25th infantry battalion faced heavily armed terrorists that day.
Close Encounter
We believe that the group we faced belonged to the ASG leader considering that we faced more than a hundred armed men. We could not retreat immediately, nevertheless the enemy wasn’t able to get close enough to steal our weapons since we had the support of other defense units. We had army soldiers from other areas pursuing the terrorists, while others provided blocking forces so that we could rescue our injured brothers. Most of those who were wounded actually died while we were withdrawing from the terrain.
Unmutilated
Unlike what happened to the SAF44, the Abu Sayyaf were not able to come close enough to mutilate the bodies. We were able to withdraw in a way that the ASG wasn’t able to get any bodies or steal weapons. Our coordinated efforts have resulted in continuous clashes, keeping pressure on the terrorists until they are worn out.
The family members of those who were killed in the clash have been informed before the news was released to the public.
Salute To Our Heroes
Aside from the 35th Infantry Battalion, we have elite units from our Philippine marine and our army. These combined troops is what we call Joint Task Force Sulu (JTFS) under Brig. Gen. Arnel dela Vega. This is the group that continues to wage attacks upon the ASG infested areas.
As a mark of respect to our fallen soldiers, our flag is flown at half-staff in all military facilities nationwide.
After the incident at the Night Market in Davao, speculations abound that it may also be the handy work of drug lords out to give the president a message. Drug lords or ASG, what we do know is that whoever did this has no respect for life. This is an act of terrorism that nobody should tolerate or condone.