Ranks of US sailor’s rescuers swell

ANGELES CITY – The case of the American sailor who went missing on the slopes of Mt. Pinatubo may have brought out more heroes than was bargained for.

After the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) commended two Aetas and Clark Development Corp. (CDC) offered them jobs for helping find US Navy Lt. Scott Washburn, the city government here has recognized 14 more "heroes" in the rescue.

Washburn went missing for 33 hours after his group of hikers was waylaid on the slopes of the volcano by a commando of New People’s Army guerrillas in need of firearms.

An entire Army battalion, two teams from the Philippine Navy and a Huey helicopter were dispatched to search for Washburn but came up empty-handed.

Washburn seemed to have disintegrated into thin air when the band of NPA rebels accosted his group of nine hikers — including three of his compatriots on furlough from military exercises — and confiscated the firearms of their escorts from the Philippine Navy.

Washburn, who brought up the rear of the file, was apparently undetected by the attackers after he hid in an area with thick vegetation, where he stayed for 33 hours.

Maj. Gen. Rodolfo Garcia, commander of the Army’s North Luzon command and head of the search operations for Washburn, said that with rescuers failing to locate him, Washburn decided to find his way back to the lowlands at 7 p.m. Wednesday after a restful sleep.

"He had already walked a long way when he found the huts of the Aetas," Garcia told The STAR.

Heroic Aetas Patricio Gonzales and Rafael Pan opened their doors to Washburn when he knocked, after which they escorted him to the nearest barangay tanod office in Sapang Bato.

"But to say that the Aetas rescued Washburn would be inaccurate. They merely provided him with assistance, and for that, they should be given credit," Garcia said in a phone interview.

Together with the two Aetas and barangay tanod Salvador Balles, Washburn reached the western gate of Clark Field at Sapang Bato at about 10:45 p.m. He was presented safe and sound to the media two hours and 45 minutes later.

The CDC offered permanent employment and an undetermined amount of cash to Gonzales and Pan to commend them for their role in ensuring the safety of Washburn. The two were then brought to meet Foreign Secretary Teofisto Guingona, the concurrent vice president.

Yesterday, however, Angeles Mayor Carmelo Lazatin and his tourism consultant Ramona Lopez-Ty called for a press conference not only to commend the two Aetas, but also to heap praise on 14 more unsung heroes for the "rescue" of Washburn.

Among the unsung heroes cited were Col. John Bolhayon of the 703rd Infantry Brigade, Lt. Col. Gerardo Layug of the 69th Infantry Battalion, tanod Balles, and 11 others whose role in the rescue was not fully explained.

Meanwhile, Garcia said he has been saddened by criticisms of the military’s failure to locate Washburn.

"Washburn said he did not sleep on the first night, watching the moon and the stars, so that the following day when the search operations were in full blast, he was mostly asleep where he was hiding until he decided to walk back by himself about 7 p.m.," Garcia said.

He explained that with the object of search sound asleep and well hidden in difficult terrain, it would be hard to locate Washburn.

"We later found out that at least three search teams had passed the vicinity where Washburn was hiding, but the terrain was such that it was difficult for searchers to pin down their object even at a distance of a few meters," he added.