ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – They came here to keep the peace. But the urban battlefield of Zamboanga proved too tough for them.

On Wednesday, September 25, families, friends and colleagues bid farewell to one soldier and two policemen who were killed in fierce gun battles with Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) fighters. The standoff entered its second week last Monday, September 23.

At 10:30 am Wednesday, departure honors were held for slain Army Scout Ranger 1Lt Francis Damian; Police Special Action Forces PO2 Lawin Salisa; and PO1 Enrique Afable at the Andrews Air Base in this city.

Damian died on Tuesday, September 24, at the Ciudad Zamboanga Hospital, a day after getting wounded in a gun battle with Muslim rebels here.

Damian was 28, married, and a 2007 graduate of the Philippine Military Academy.

Salisa and Afable, on the other hand, were shot dead on Tuesday, September 24, as they joined a clearing operation that led to the capture of a trusted aide of MNLF commander Habier Malik and 8 other rebels. 

READ: Malik’s trusted aide captured

In attendance at the departure honors were the families of the 3 as well as Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, and Armed Forces chief of staff Gen Emmanuel Bautista.

The 3 were flown back to Manila aboard a military C-130 plane at 11 am on Wednesday. – Rappler.com