I was in Panglao when media
friends --Ric Obedendio and Dave Charles Responte-- informed me about the clash
in Inabanga town on April 11, 2017. When
I told them I was interested to cover it, they fetched me in Panglao and rushed
to the battlefield. At 10:30 a.m., we arrived in Barangay Napo. We met residents
fleeing their homes from barangays Napo, Calenti and Banahao who were scared of
being hit as bombs were being dropped. Other media friends from Bohol (Mike
Ligalig and Chito Visarra) and Cebu arrived later in the afternoon.
 |
Kids at
the top of military tanks carried
placards on Wednesday, April 11, 2018, during
first commemoration of the Bohol clash, when
11 members of the Abu Sayyaf Group
(ASG) entered
Bohol province and never made it out. Leo
Udtohan
|
The following day, other
media friends Allen Doydora, Ern Pahayahay and Helen Castaño joined us in the battlefield. When we were told that some ASG members were
still hiding, we ran looking for shelter.
A resident gave us water to drink
to sustain.
Your media friends reported
the clash and what followed. We thanked
our “foster families” in Clarin and Pangangan Island in Calape town for converting
their houses into a “media center,” until
the last two remaining ASG members were killed.
After one year, the
incident was still fresh. It was a day
to remember that the ASG landed in Bohol and never made it out.
***
Officials of the Bohol
provincial government chose to commemorate, instead of forget, the attempt of
the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) last year to establish a base in Inabanga town last
Wednesday, April 11.
The clash killed three
Army soldiers, a policeman and two civilians, and displaced hundreds of
families during the firefight that lasted for a month and spanned three towns.
Bohol Gov. Edgar Chatto
explained they were celebrating, not the entry of the Abu Sayyaf, but the
heroism shown by the government troops who were relentless in hunting down the
bandit group until all 11 were killed as well as the community involvement that
enabled authorities to learn about their entry.
 |
The switch-on ceremony of
the road project
that links Barangays Datag to Napo, Inabanga town
and Libertad
to Tan-wan in Tubigon town led by
Acting Interior Secretary Eduardo Año. It was
also
witnessed by Bohol Gov. Edgar Chatto, Inabanga
Mayor Josephine Socorro
Jumamoy and other officials.
Leo Udtohan
|
“We are celebrating the
positive value of heroism that was showcased because of that challenge. It is
something worth remembering. It is something worth celebrating,” said Chatto.
Chatto led the ceremony
that commemorated the first anniversary of the attempt of the bandit group to
establish a base in Inabanga where they planned to launch kidnapping and
terrorism activities in nearby provinces.
Members of the Inabanga
Theatre Group held a dance drama that reenacted the events of April 11, 2017
when 11 men on board three kumpits (two-engine motorboats) arrived in Barangay
Napo, Inabanga.
The children saw the group
who were led by Napo native, Joselito Melloria as well as high-powered firearms
with “bullets as big as corn ears.” They told their parents who then passed the
information to the village officials who then told the police.
Combined forces of the
police and Army arrived and a firefight ensued –something that was not seen in
Bohol despite the presence of communist insurgents in some towns. Residents of
Napo and nearby villages fled as the Philippine Air Force dropped bombs to
flush out the bandits who were in hiding.
Four ASG members including
bomb expert Abu Rami were killed during the initial assault. But also killed
were three soldiers and one policeman and two civilians. The seven others fled
to nearby Clarin town where Melloria was later killed.
At the height of Clarin
clash, law enforcers arrested Supt. Ma. Cristina Nobleza and her husband Abu
Sayyaf bomber Reenor Lou Dungon, Judith Dungon and a minor who allegedly tried
to rescue the remaining Abu Sayyaf members.
Hunger prompted Abu Saad
to surrender in Tubigon town but was killed by police after he allegedly tried
to escape from prison.
The last two ASG members-
Ubayda and Asis were killed in a firefight in Calape town on May 15, 2017,
which ended the month-long operation.
The three kumpits used by
the bandits as well as the military tanks and weapons used by the government
troops were on display in a one-day exhibit outside the municipal gymnasium in
Inabanga last Wednesday.
Also launched during the
commemoration was SAFE Bohol (Security Always for Everyone: Boholano
Bayanihan), a movement inspired by the community involvement that led to the
discovery of the Abu Sayyaf
 |
| Reporting from the
battlefield- (l-r) Ric Obedencio (The Freeman/PhilStar), Dave Charles Responte (dyTR) Ern Pahayahay (dyTR), Allen Doydora (dyRD) and Helen Castaño in Barangay Napo in Inabanga town on April 12, 2017. Leo Udtohan |
PO2 Rey Anthony Nazareno,
2nd Lieutenant Espelito Saldua, Jr, Corporal Meljun Cajaban, Sergeant John
Dexter Duero who perished during the clash were also remembered and honored.
Acting Interior Secretary Eduardo Año, who was
the guest of honor, said the vigilance of Boholano community and the military’s
tough and focused stance were the reasons why the Abu Sayyaf didn't succeed.
“Dito sa Inabanga is one
ideal example on how the government, the NGOS (nongovernment organizations),
the local government enforcement agencies, law enforcement agencies and local
populace worked together and defeated the Abu Sayyaf threat,” said Año.
Part of the activities on
Wednesday was the launching of the road project that links Barangays Datag to
Napo, Inabanga town and Libertad to Tan-wan in Tubigon town.
For so long time, Barangay Napo in Inabanga
has been isolated because there is no access road that connects it to any
existing road. It can only be reached by boat through the Inabanga river or on
foot passing through mountainous trails.
Chatto said that with the
assistance of Año, it is hoped that this project can be completed that will
give positive impact to the communities in the said barangays.
***
Thanks for
your letters, all will be answered. Comments welcome at leoudtohan@yahoo.com, follow
leoudtohanINQ at Twitter /Facebook.
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