(Eagle News)—The Philippine National Police on Friday, Jan. 25, paid tribute to the 44 Special Action Force members who were killed in the botched Mamasapano operation in 2015.
PNP Chief Oscar Albayalde was guest of honor at the ceremony held in Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig, while National Capital Region Police Office chief Guillermo Eleazar led a wreath-laying ceremony at the SAF44 monument.
Relatives of the SAF 44 witnessed the event on the National Day of Remembrance set by President Rodrigo Duterte to commemorate the bravery of the policemen, who were killed while serving an arrest warrant for Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli Abdhir or Marwan.
Marwan was killed in the operation.
Abdul Basit Usman, however, escaped.
He was killed in another operation in May of that year.
“As the nation honors the memory of the SAF 44, their heroism also serves as a constant reminder of continuing sacrifices being made by our valiant uniformed men and women in the line of duty,” Duterte said in Proclamation No. 164.
“I ask all our countrymen to remember the heroism of the SAF 44 and recall the daily sacrifices of our uniformed personnel for the sake of the continued peace and security of our nation,” he added.