Retired police officer mourns death of son in Zambo standoff

MANILA, Philippines - Retired Chief Supt. Roberto Damian had a dilemma when he heard that his son, 1Lt. Francis Damian, would be deployed to Zamboanga City.

The father in him wanted his son to take a vacation since the latter had just arrived from an airborne training in Fort Magsaysay.

The soldier in him, however, wanted his son to answer the call of duty. Little did Roberto know that the call would abruptly end his son’s promising military career.

“Ingat ka anak (Stay safe son). This is an endgame. (It will be a) clearing (operation). That was my last statement before we parted,” he added.

Like a junior officer reporting to a superior, Francis would send text messages containing situational reports to his father.

Francis, a graduate of Philippine Military Academy (PMA) class 2007, was not able to see the end of the conflict that he wanted to stabilize.

He was shot on the forehead on Sept. 23, his third day of his deployment to Zamboanga.  The young officer died in a hospital a day later, leaving behind his wife and classmate 1Lt. Aemy Campos and daughter Sophie.

“Before he left, I had a feeling that I wanted to accompany him. Every time I text him, I would tell him: Ingat ka anak (Stay safe, son). I always end my message with that,” the elder Damian said in an interview.

Incidentally, Francis was sent to the conflict zone to replace 1Lt. Kristopher Rama, the first Army officer to die in the Zamboanga crisis.

Roberto said his son’s last text message to him was “Thank you dad,” which was a reply to his reminder for him to be careful.

“When a classmate who is a retired general called me talking about my son, I already had a feeling. Out of nowhere, this guy calls and he did not even know my number. So medyo nanlamig ako,” the former Constabulary officer said.

Roberto said one of Francis’ classmates, a certain Lt. Castillo, broke the sad news.

“Immediately, one of his (Francis) classmates, Lt. Castillo, texted. When he called I told myself this is it. He then told me: Sir, wala na po si Francis. (Francis passed away),” he said.

“It’s a painful event for the family, his friends and his relatives Francis,” Roberto, a member of Philippine Military Academy (PMA) class ’79, said.

President Aquino on Thursday visited Francis’ remains in Camp Aguinaldo and consoled his bereaved family. His body will be interred at the Libingan ng mga Bayani on Tuesday.

Soldiers whose parents had served in the military often face the pressure of meeting certain expectations.

Roberto, however, said he is very proud of his son, whom he described as “well-liked” by his superiors.

“He (Francis) was not only my son, he was my friend. We did not oppose his entry to the academy and we always told him it's your choice,  so okay,” he said.

“We are open,  we discuss things openly and he respected my views just as he respected his views. We have a healthy soldier to soldier relationship.”

Roberto remembers his son as an aggressive and professional soldier who was not afraid to undertake difficult military trainings In fact, Francis was with the 3rd Light Reaction Company of the Special Operations Command before he died.

“I told him: Be all you can be while you are still young,” he said.