Siocon cop chief, 8 men cited for valor

Courage under fire.

Although outnumbered and outgunned, Siocon town police chief Ranny Planilla Hachuela and his force of 14 men held their ground when about 70 guerrillas of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) launched a dawn surprise attack on his station and an army battalion headquarters.

"A hail of bullets and rifle grenades were fired by the rebels from several directions. But at that moment I did not fail to look above and ask God to help us in protecting the people," Hachuela said.

The rebels also fired on houses, seized the town hall and a hospital and torched the market. The office of Mayor Cesar Soriano was damaged by a rocket-propelled grenade.

When the rebels withdrew, Hachuela and three of his officers rushed to the mayor’s house and drove off a band of guerrillas.

When Army troops began arriving, the retreating rebels took several hostages with them as human shields, including Soriano’s wife and young son. They were later rescued along with several others.

When it was all over, six of Hachuela’s men were killed and almost all his remaining officers were wounded. "We lost six committed men who fought and sacrificed their lives just to protect the freedom as we are mandated," he said.

Scores of civilians were also killed and several others were wounded in the attack. At least two soldiers were also killed.

Two days after the May 4 attack, Philippine National Police chief Director General Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. conferred on Hachuela the PNP’s highest honor, the Medal of Valor.

Hachuela and his remaining eight officers were also promoted on the spot. The six officers who fell were likewise posthumously promoted.

At only 26, Hachuela is one of the youngest police chiefs in the force. Hachuela graduated from the Philippine National Police Academy in 1997 and comes from a poor family of farmers in Sultan Kudarat province.

An angry President Arroyo called off the resumption of peace negotiations with the MILF in Malaysia and began moves to brand them as a terrorist organization.

The 12,500-strong MILF has been waging an insurrection in the Philippines’ impoverished and volatile south for about three decades.

MILF attacks on civilians have increased after the guerrillas lost a camp in North Cotabato province to the military in February.

The military then accused the MILF of retaliating by bombing a wharf in Davao city on April 2, killing 16 people, and the city’s airport a month earlier, killing 22.

The rebels denied any responsibility. Criminal charges were filed against MILF chairman Hashim Salamat and several other top leaders for the airport bombing.