MARAWI CITY, Philippines – It was almost midnight on the first day of the war, May 23. First Lieutenant Geraldo Alvarez of the 4th Mechanized Brigade left the military headquarters in Marawi City with 19 men and two armored vehicles to rescue a wounded officer and bring in reinforcement troops.
“Paglabas ko doon sa brigade, nakakahinala na lahat ng paligid (As soon as I left the brigade headquarters, there was something suspicious about the surroundings),” he told Rappler in an interview.
Little did they know they were on their way to face the biggest battle of their lives. It was a 5-day battle that earned Alvarez the nomination to receive the coveted Medal for Valor, the highest and most rare combat award. *
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| Medal of Valor candidate 1st Lt. Geraldo Alvarez (screen grab from ANC) |
Mapandi Bridge
The now infamous
Baloi Bridge – nicknamed “Mapandi Bridge” by locals – gave his team its first
obstacle. Bullets came out flying as they approached one of 3 bridges on Agus
River that separated the area controlled by local terrorist groups linked with
international terrorist network Islamic State (ISIS) and the government troops.
The Maute
fighters also parked a vehicle to block one end of the bridge. “Nagkataon
naman na kayang-kaya naman banggain ng tangke ko. Binangga ko siya (It was
okay. The armored vehicle was able to ram its way through.),” Alvarez said.
But greater
danger waited for them past the bridge.
He would learn
that armored vehicles can only do so much against the high-powered weapons of
the enemy. The rude awakening came when a rocket-propelled grenade slammed into
their vehicle.
His driver
frantically maneuvered away from enemy reach, but the vehicle engine soon went
dead. The Maute fighters leaped out and pursued them. “Nag-set sila
ng parang killing zone (We found ourselves in their killing zone),” said
Alvarez.
Alvarez knew
they had to get out of the vehicle before the Maute fighters fired at them
again. But it was easier said than done. He asked his troops in the other
vehicle to dismount first so he could check the situation of the men with him
after they were hit by RPG. *
“Sabi ko,
‘Dismount kayo.’ ‘Sir, hindi kami makalabas agad kasi pinapaputukuan. So
ginawa nila, ‘timing, timing.’ Hanggang naka-timing sila at naka-dismount
(I said, ‘Dismount.’ They said, ‘Sir, we can’t dismount because they are firing
at us.’ They waited for a perfect time they could dismount.),” said Alvarez.
Two men down
When the smoke
from the explosion cleared, he saw how badly his men were hurt. They were all
groaning in pain.
“Hinila ko si
late Private [Junie Berth] Purlas. Sinandal ko siya pero humiwalay naman
yung baiwang niya noon. Idinikit ko na lang (I pulled late Private Purlas
up but his waist had been separated. I tried to put it back),” he said.
“Pagtingin ko
sa isang paa, akala ko kaniya. Hindi pala. Yung isang tropa ko pa. Si
Private [Roel] Cabonita Jr. Nakakita ako ng tali at pansamantalang itinali
ko muna (I saw a leg and I thought it was also his. It wasn't. It belonged
to Private Cabonita. I saw a rope and tied his leg into place),” he said.
The wounded men
crawled and dropped themselves out of the vehicle if only so they could
dismount. They applied first aid on each other while they repelled the fierce
enemy attack. *
Alvarez
positioned men temporarily blinded by the explosion behind guns. “Si-night
ko muna ang mga baril nila. Sabi ko, ‘Huwag niyo muna galawin. Kakalabitin
niyo na lang. Gamitin niyo na lang sense of hearing niyo (I myself
aimed their guns so they only needed to pull the triggers. I told them to use
their sense of hearing),” he said.
Daylight came
and they asked for rescue. But by then troops couldn't cross Baloi Bridge
anymore.
Cabonita would
later die from his wounds. “Sabi niya, ‘Sir, uhaw uhaw na ako.’ Kapag
masyadong wounded, hindi masyado pinapainom. Dip dip lang ng
kaunti. Pagbalik ko sa kaniya, parang inayos na lang niya sarili niya hanggang
sa nalagutan na siya ng hininga (He told me he was very thirsty. If you're
badly wounded like that, you are not supposed to drink. I just moistened his
lips. When I got back, he had arranged himself before he took his last
breath).”
Alvarez didn’t
have enough men to secure the area for a chopper to land safely and rescue
them. A Philippine Air Force pilot still tried but enemy snipers fired at him,
forcing him to leave.
Alvarez and his
men sought cover in houses nearby. They tried to restore the other vehicle, but
to no avail.
Alvarez asked
for help from the 49th Infantry Battalion, the unit they
were supposed to reinforce. But the enemy had concentrated between their locations.
*
“Sabi ko,
‘Bok, baka ako naman pwede humingi ng tulong mo. Sabi sa akin, ‘Sir, sorry.
Hindi kita malapitan kasi in between sa atin marami rin. Pero may
nakuha kaming radio nila na naiwan. Lahat sila mag-consolidate sa
location mo (I said, 'Mate, can we ask for your help? He told me, 'Sir,
sorry. We couldn't get near you because there are enemies between our
locations. We also recovered a radio from the enemy. They're planning to
consolidate in your location),” he said.
Alvarez ordered
his men to hold the line. They were on their own for days.
Heroism in
Marawi
The gunner and
the driver of the remaining armored vehicle worked non-stop to repel the
enemies.
“Kami ang
bumabagbag hanggang napagod na ang gunner ko. ‘Yung driver,
jockeying palagi yan. Atras abante. Siya bumabagbag sa snipers. Banda
hapon, pagod na talaga siya (We fired back at the enemy until my gunner was
exhausted. The driver was constantly jockeying to avoid enemy fire),” said
Alvarez.
Later in the
afternoon on the 2nd day, the armored vehicle ran out of bullets. The driver volunteered to get
the ammo left from the other vehicle disabled by RPG.
He was loading
bullets when he was hit on the side by an enemy sniper. He mustered enough
strength to get inside the vehicle. *
“Nakapasok pa
siya sa loob ng vehicle. Nakapag-jockeying pa. Sabi ko, ‘Hindi
masayadong malala ang tama niya.’ Kaya lang napansin namin yung jockeying niya,
yung atras-abante niya, iba na. Hindi na niya sinusunod ang kalsada.
Ni-radyo na nalagutan na siya ng hininga (He was hit on the side while
loading bullets into the gun. He was able to go inside the vehicle and drive. I
thought his wounds were not so serious. But we would later see that his driving
was off. They radioed us that he died),” Alvarez said.
The bullets he
retrieved killed enemies that attempted to get near them.
The enemies
upped their game, throwing molotov cocktails at the house they occupied to
flush them out. Alvarez lost another man to enemy sniper.
The enemies
asked them to surrender. “Huwag niyo na pahirapan sarili ninyo (You
don’t’ have to suffer anymore) ,” the Mautes shouted.
But soldiers do
not surrender. “Hindi naman kami susuko sa ganiyan. Return fire kami. Akala
nila kaunti na lang kami (We don’t surrender just like that. We returned
fire. They thought there were a few of us left.)”
Rescue arrives
The enemies were
silenced when a chopper arrived and launched rockets towards enemy locations. *
On the 4th day, May 26,
two companies came to rescue them but had to withdraw when it suffered casualties.
It would take
another day for them to get out of there. Instead of waiting to be fetched,
they “shared the risk” and decided to meet at a nearby ricemill where choppers
could safely land.
Firefight broke
out as they headed for the ricemill.
“Doon kami
nagkita-kita. Halos di nila ako makilala kasi parang uling na itsura ko
(That's when we were rescued. They almost couldn't recognize me. I was as black
as charcoal).”
The soldiers
hugged each other. Alvarez brought home 15 of the 19 men he had with him on May
23.
“Feeling ko
tinulungan kami ng Diyos kasi kahit na yung mga bala nasa tabi lang tumatama.
Parang nilayo kami sa bala (I felt that God really helped us there. We were
saved from the bullets),” he said.
It would take
the military two months to regain control of Baloi Bridge and another 3 months
to end the war.
The bloodiest
day of the war also happened in the area, on June 9, when 13 marines were
killed when molotov cocktails forced them out of their defensive positions.
Alvarez stayed
in Marawi throughout the war, leading his men in rescuing soldiers and bringing
in reinforcement troops and supplies. *
Source:
Rappler.com “The story of a Marawi officer nominated for the highest combat award” by Ms.Carmela
Fonbuena Oct.30, 2017
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