THE Philippine National Police Academy Alumni Association (PNPAAA)-Zamboanga del Sur members have shaved their heads as they mourn the death of their fallen comrades who are members of the Special Action Force (SAF).
Pagadian City police chief Glenn Dulawan said they have agreed to shave their heads as a show of sympathy to the bereaved families and mourning the death of their slain comrades.
Dulawan is the president of the PNPAAA-Zamboanga del Sur chapter, which has 29 academy graduate-members. He belongs to PNPA Class of 1999.
Forty-four, including seven officers, Special Action Force (SAF) policemen were killed in a “misencounter” with members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Sunday in the village of Tukanalipao, Mamasapano, Maguindanao.
Dulawan said three of the 44 fallen SAF policemen were natives of Zamboanga del Sur.
They are Senior Inspector John Garry Erana (PNPA Class 2009) and Inspector Rennie Tayrus (PNPA Class 2011), both from Dumalinao municipality, and Police Officer 3 (PO3) Virgel Villanueva of the coastal town of San Pablo.
Senior Superintendent Sofronio Ecaldre, Zamboanga del Sur police director, said the remains of Erana arrived in Pagadian City at 9 a.m. Saturday aboard a commercial plane from Manila.
Supposedly, Ecaldre said the remains of all three--Erana, Tayrus and Villanueva--were scheduled to arrived Saturday.
However, Ecaldre said the remains of Tayrus and Villanueva were not accommodated due to lack of space.
Ecaldre said the remains of Tayrus and Villanueva are scheduled to arrive Sunday aboard a commercial plane from Manila.
He said people lined up along the roadside as they witnessed the convoy that brought the remains of Erana to his home town of Dumalinao.
In Zamboanga City, arrival honors were afforded to the late Inspector Joey Gamutan and PO3 Victoriano Acain, whose remains arrived here Saturday.
Gamutan hails from the village of Begang, Isabela City, the capital of Basilan province while Acain from Gutalac, Zamboanga del Norte.
Chief Superintendent Edgar Basbas said that nine of the 44 fallen SAF policemen are natives of this region. – Bong Garcia