MANILA, Philippines - The caskets of 41 slain members of the Philippine National Police Special Action Force (SAF) were removed from Camp Bagong Diwa yesterday, with departure honors befitting the fallen heroes.
Two of the SAF commandos were buried in Mindanao according to Muslim tradition, while one was brought directly home to Bicol.
As of yesterday, two coffins with the remains of Inspector Rennie Tyrus and PO3 Vergel Villanueva were still at the camp and will be flown to Mindanao today.
As the flag-draped coffins were removed from the camp’s multipurpose hall one by one, mourners left messages of grief and salutations to their bravery in honor of the 44 dead policemen on a freedom wall set up across the hall.
“Sleep well my brothers. You did your job!” read one of the messages.
Beneath the wall were flowers and the wax of melted candles that were lit to express sympathy for the fallen policemen.
The freedom wall, made up of two white boards with tarpaulins, also had a few photos of the fallen comrades, while some posted news articles about their battle in Maguindanao.
But mostly the words conveyed messages of pain, anguish and love from relatives, friends and fellow policemen – “we will miss you” and “we love you.”
One attempted some levity by praising them with “Saludo kami sa inyo” (We salute all of you) followed by “Mabuhay kayong lahat nang mataranta sila” (May all of you live so they will panic).
But most of all, the messages were about their heroic deeds and how their bravery would never be forgotten.
“You are all heroes to us. Rest in peace,” read one message.
“Till we meet again,” said another.