MNLF rebels play grinch to soldier’s kids

From the Manila Bulletin (Dec 25): MNLF rebels play grinch to soldier’s kids

This Christmas, seven-year-old Nicolas and his sisters – Pia Honorata, 6; Nora Agelica, 4; and Lucy, 2 – will be waiting for their father, Cpl. Eduardo Saquing and his promised presents for them – a toy car, robot, and a Barbie doll.

But the elder Saquing, a member of Basic Naval Special Warfare /SEAL Course Class 69, will never come home nor will he still be able to buy and send gifts for his children.

Cpl. Saquing is already dead – one of the government forces killed while fighting members of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF)-Misuari faction during the bloody Zamboanga siege in September.

Like Grinch in Dr. Seuss tale, the MNLF rebels stole Christmas cheer for Cpl. Saquing’s children when one of the bullets they fired fatally hit the soldier.

It was in the early morning of September 26 during a clearing operation of the Naval Special Operations Unit (NAVSOU) 8 with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Joint Special Operations Group (JSOG) in Sta. Barbara, Zamboanga City, that he was hit by the enemy fire.

Saquing’s wife, Angelita, 30, recalls that the last time she spoke with him was around noon time on Sept. 25.

“Sabi niya nasa Barangay Sta. Barbara na sila nag-clearing operations… medyo ok na daw kasi may parang sumusuko na,” Angelita narrated to Manila Bulletin. (He said they were already in Barangay Sta. Barbara conducting clearing operations… the situation was getting ok because according to him, some of the enemies are surrendering.)

While Cpl. Saquing’s tour of duty in Mindanao is not new to them as the former had previously seen action in the south and even engaged members of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) in various encounters, Angelita said she felt there was something odd in the days prior to and during her husband’s deployment to Zamboanga City.

“Nagtataka lang ako kasi itong operations na ito lang ang everyday kinukuwento niya yun lahat ng nangyayari. Siya na mismo nabibigay ng detalye,” she said.

In their phone conversations and exchange of text messages days before Cpl. Saquing was killed in action, Angelita said her husband often asked about their children and their house.

“Palaging kinukumusta itong bahay at ang mga bata. Ipapalitada daw bahay pag-uwi niya from Zamboanga,” said Saquing’s wife.

Angelita showed to this writer the fallen soldier’s last text message to her, which read: “Ayusin mong mabuti yan bahay… Pag-uwi ko bibili tayo ng kama…”

“Plano din sana niya na magpakasal na kami ngayon December,” Angelita further revealed, saying they had to set aside marriage as Cpl. Saquing fulfilled a vow he made to his mother whom he lost at the age of 10.

Being the oldest of the brood, Cpl. Saquing promised to their mother that he will take care of his siblings. “Katatapos niya lang magpa-aral ng mga kapatid,” said Angelita.
On Sept. 26 at around 9 a.m., Angelita said she received a call from her husband’s fellow officer. “Sabi lang sa akin kailangan makausap ako sa office. Hindi totally sinabi emergency, basta may mga itatanong daw tungkol sa asawa ko.”

When she arrived at the headquarters, some of Cpl. Saquing’s relatives were already around.

Angelita said she asked, “Where’s Ed?” But they remained silent. A senior officer later came in and broke the bad news.

When she came home that day, Angelita did not right away tell her young children about what happened to their father. “Hindi ko agad nasabi na wala na papa nila,”
Angelita said, adding it was only when Cpl. Saquing’s body was scheduled to arrive at the Villamor Airbase in Pasay City that she told them, “Magkikita kami ng papa niyo.”
Upon hearing this, the siblings asked their mother to remind their dad about the toys he promised to buy for them in Zamboanga.

The children only learned of their father’s death two days later when Angelita brought them to the mortuary.

“Kinausap ko muna sila sa kuwarto. Sabi ko anak huwag kayo mabibigla, si papa wala na. Yun mga laruan wala na din, hindi niya na nabili,” she said.

The fallen soldier was buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani in Fort Bonifacio. A posthumous Gold Cross Medal was bestowed on Cpl. Saquing in a ceremony at Camp Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo last November to honor the soldiers who fought Muslim separatists during the Zamboanga siege.

Together with his mother, Nicolas Mach, they received from President Benigno S. Aquino III the award for their hero dad.

“I want to become a soldier, like my father,” the young Saquing told the President after receiving the award.

The boy also expressed how much they miss their father, “we miss him a lot,” he said.
Despite knowing that their soldier father has gone to heaven, the young Saquing’s still await his return, specially this Christmas. To them, Cpl. Saquing may have died but he will always remain alive in their young mind and in their heart.

They will always remember the times when their father would bring them to church, teach them how to swim, play with them, and when they eat together as a family.
And like her brother, Pia Honorata said she also wants to become a soldier and follow their father’s footsteps when she grows up.

“Kakausapin daw mga kasama ng papa nila at tatanungin kung sino ang pumatay,” said Angelita referring to her daughter, Pia Honorata.

http://www.mb.com.ph/mnlf-rebels-play-grinch-to-soldiers-kids/