Ex-AFP vice chief of staff Salvador Mison passes away

From the Philippine News Agency (Jul 20, 2023): Ex-AFP vice chief of staff Salvador Mison passes away (By Ben Cal)

Former AFP vice chief of staff Lt. Gen. Salvador M. Mison

MANILA – Former Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) vice chief of staff Lt. Gen. Salvador M. Mison died on July 19 at the age of 90, his family announced on Thursday.

His family said Mison died peacefully but did not mention the cause of his death.

The AFP will give full military honors to Mison during the burial over the weekend.

Mison is survived by his wife Ione, and children Irene and Dave, Jun and Cherryt, Gy and Albert, Frankie, Ione and Tom, and Michael, and 13 grandchildren and one great grandchildren.

His remains lie in state at the Libingan ng mga Bayani in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City.

Instead of flowers, his family is requesting to donate to the “Ang Mission ni Mison Foundation, Inc.”

Mison, a graduate of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Class 1955, was known for his gallantry in combat, particularly at the outbreak of the Mindanao war against the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) known as the Burning of Jolo, Sulu on Feb. 8, 1974 where his unit, the 14th Infantry Battalion, though outnumbered was the first to mount a counter-attack against the rebel forces.

His brilliant war strategy led to his promotion as full army colonel on the recommendation of then AFP chief of staff Gen. Romeo Espino to then President Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr.

Mison was also the commander of the 8th Division of the AFP Eastern Command based in Samar.

The Burning of Jolo incident practically caught government forces by surprise as heavy fighting erupted in the capital town in what is considered as the first recorded urban warfare in the AFP’s war on terror.

Before hostilities erupted, MNLF rebels armed to the teeth practically roamed the streets unperturbed despite the presence of the soldiers and policemen.

It was only a matter of time before a shooting war would start and tension filled the air and was felt by everybody at that time.

As fighting broke out, the AFP high command in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City dispatched the 14th Infantry Battalion under then Lt. Col. Mison to reinforce government forces pinned down during the Jolo fighting.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1206031