By Ronron
January 23, 2007
From the start, the Marine troopers who were tasked to go after the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) that included its chieftain Khadaffy Janjalani in September last year were aware that they were off to a “special mission.”
Private First Class Juvelito Manalili, 26, one of the 27-member Class 12 Marine Force Reconnaissance under the 3rd Marine Brigade, recounted that they were doing nothing in the afternoon of September 3, 2006 inside their camp in Jolo, Sulu when the entire platoon, led by 2Lt. Romulo Dimayuga, were called to a briefing.
Manalili said no less than Brig. Gen. Juancho Sabban, commander of the 3rd Marine Brigade, gave the briefing for their mission following receipt of an intelligence report of the presence of their “high-value targets, including foreign leaders” in Barangay Tugas, Patikul, also in Sulu.
“Yung operation na yun, alam namin na grupo ni Khadaffy Janjalani ang andun. Sure kami,” said Dimayuga, 24, referring to the encounter that ensued many hours later at their target place after the briefing.
He disclosed that their target place, based on the intelligence information, was particularly marked on the map during the briefing.
Dimayuga acknowledged that the intelligence information was a fusion of the Philippine and US military forces, both human and technical in nature. This was also confirmed by Armed Forces Public Information Officer Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro.
But the young officer, who just graduated from the Philippine Military Academy in 2005, clarified that from the time they were briefed until they went to operation, no member of the US Forces were in sight.
Armed with radio for their communication; a GPS (Global Positioning System) device, map, compass, and night vision for their navigation; and high-powered firearms like M203 grenade launchers, Dimayuga and his 26 men left their base at 8pm of September 3, and were transported by truck to Patikul.
An hour later, they were dropped off at a place where they would start walking towards their target.
Manalili said he was the “compass man” in the team, assisting Dimayuga, who was holding the GPS while leading the team.
“The Force Recon members are really used to walking at night. So, we are familiar with the jungle,” explained Manalili when asked how they reached their target place despite the darkness. Besides, at least three of them were equipped with night vision goggles that the Philippines acquired from the US.
The two officers recalled that it was only at around 1am of September 4 that they came close to their targets, who were hiding in bunkers that were neck-deep. In fact, Dimayuga said, they were just about four meters away from their targets.
Manalili described the place to have plenty of “coconut trees, “marang” trees, grasses and other plants.” And at the base is a creek.
“May mga narinig kaming hilik, tapos may mga ilaw ng flashflights… May mga punong may mga duyan, at may mga tent rin na kulay blue,” Manalili said.
At 3am, Manalili said they sent radio communication message to their base and to the nearby troops, requesting for reinforcement troops.
But, Dimayuga said, they decided to wait until 5 am to attack their targets so their enemies could first consolidate upon waking up.
True enough, at around that time, a man woke up, and was heard by Dimayuga apparently singing, “with a distinct voice.” A few minutes later, some other men started waking up too. Dimayuga estimated their enemy to be around 40 at that time.
“Yes, I suppose,” said Dimayuga when asked if he suspects that noisy man to be Janjalani. “He could not have the guts to create noise if he was not a person in authority in the group.”
But he admitted that he did not positively see Janjalani, who holds a five million dollar bounty on his head, because their subjects were wearing either caps, bonnet or other coverings in the head.
When the opportune time came, the government troops then started throwing grenades to their targets followed by non-stop gun fires, catching their enemies by surprise.
About an hour later, or at 6am, Manalili said over 100 reinforcement fighters of the ASG started arriving. He said this also supported their belief then that they had really hit hard a high-value target.
Manalili said the reinforcement from the government side, coming from the Marine Force Reconnaissance Battalion, started arriving at around 7am only, but maintained that it was not “late.”
Until the arrival of the reinforcement, “we held our line and really fought it out with the Abu Sayyaf even if we already suffered casualties,” said Manalili.
Dimayuga said he got wounded in the encounter while he was helping out a wounded man. A bullet pierced through his chest, and exited on his abdomen. He also sustained a shrapnel wound on the leg.
Manalili, for his part, was hit on the left knee.
“Hindi ako puwede mag-order ng withdrawal kasi madami kaming maiiwan na kasama,” Dimayuga said.
“Nung dumating na yung reinforcement, talagang binitawan ko na yung M203 ko. Nakahinga talaga ako,” Manalili said for his part.
He disclosed four of his fellow soldiers died on the spot. Another one died while being administered first aid at the site, and one more expired at the hospital in Asturias, Jolo.
Aside from Dimayuga and Manalili, 14 others were wounded in the encounter.
Manalili said they were first treated with first aid at the site before they were airlifted at almost 9am by Philippine choppers to Jolo proper, and then later to Camp Navarro in Zamboanga City, this time already with the help of US choppers.
Dimayuga said they no longer have the chance to recover dead bodies of their enemies, or even to check if Janjalani was among the group, since they were already incapable of doing so.
But now that a DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) analysis on the alleged remains of Janjalani and his brother, Hector, supposedly proves that the former is already dead, Dimayuga and Manalili could only be elated, and feel rewarded, especially that six of their comrades died in the battle.
“It will give great honor to us, to our platoon, to the Marines, to the AFP, and to the Philippines’s fight against terror. It just proves that the death of my six men and the wounding of 16, including me, happened for a cause, and that we have accomplished our mission,” Dimayuga said.
Manalili said it is even a victory also for “civilians” because the threat of terrorism posed by the 31-year-old Janjalani died down as well.
The alleged remains of Janjalani were recovered from Barangay Kabuntakas, also in Patikul, some two kilometers away only from Barangay Tugas, by elements also of the 3rd Marine Brigade on December 27, 2006.
A Medal for Valor Award now awaits Dimayuga, while the rest of his men were also recommended to receive either of the following awards: Distinguished Conduct Star, Gold Cross Medal, or Military Merit Award with Spearhead Device, said Marines spokesman Lt. Col. Ariel Caculitan./END
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