‘Suacillo warned us not to use live bullets’

T/Sgt. Raul Suacillo warned his fellow soldiers not to use live bullets during training exercises. Unfortunately, it was too late. He made the warning after Cpl. Edgar Caban hit him, resulting in his untimely death.

“He fell when he got hit. He shouted at his fellow soldiers and said, ‘Don’t use live ammo.’ They thought it was still part of the role playing, until they saw blood oozing from his body,” Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres, Army spokesman, said in an interview yesterday.

He explained that during field training exercises, military personnel are required to bring an extra magazine loaded with live ammunition, apart from the blanks, to be able to defend themselves in case real aggressors attack them.

Torres said that this is always done, even if the training would be held in a secured portion of a military camp.

The training, where Suacillo served as an assistant instructor, was conducted at the Molave area, which is part of the Special Forces School inside the Fort Magsaysay Military Reservation in Palayan City, Nueva Ecija.

“Unfortunately, the one who admittedly shot him loaded the one with live bullets,” he said.

He said that Suacillo, a member of the elite Army Special Forces, was credited with the killing of Abu Sayyaf tactician and spokesman Jainal Antel Sali or Abu Solaiman. He was the first in the history of the Special Forces to have died in such a manner.

 “We knew the risks as soldiers. There are instances when things like this happen, but not in this manner. I remember 18 years ago, my classmate died while undergoing training,” he said.

He also said that when the incident happened, Caban’s M16 rifle still had the suppressor used when firing blank rounds, which is not utilized when live bullets are used.

“He did not remove the suppressor, which is used to extract the shell of the blank bullet from the loading chamber. So, there is really no intention to shoot Suacillo because the gun has a suppressor, which if loaded with live bullets might back fire and hurt him in the process,” he said.

Torres said that it was just unfortunate that Suacillo died while training other soldiers. Suacillo was reassigned from Jolo to Luzon to take the “heat off him” after killing Solaiman.

“We took him out of Jolo because he was already identified by the enemies when he came out on TV,” he said.

Torres said the incident would serve as an eye-opener for the military, and an opportunity to review some procedures that are being followed in their training, especially those that are combat related.