Last call from Marawi hero
BAGUIO CITY – It was mission accomplished for Special Action Force (SAF) trooper PO3 Daniel Tegwa. And immediately he called his wife, Robelyn who lives here along with their four-year-old daughter to tell her about the good news – their team neutralized Abu Sayyaf
leader and designated Islamic State “emir’ in Southeast Asia Isnilon Hapilon and militant leader Omar Maute in an early morning operation Monday.
The two terrorist leaders using hostages as their human shield were moving from one bombed building to another under cover of darkness as they tried to escape towards the direction of Lanao Lake. But government troops who tracked their movement were already positioned ready for the kill. A sniper buried a bullet into the head of one of the escaping terrorist who was later identified as Omar Maute that blasted part of his skull. One of the fatalities succumbed to bullet wounds in the chest. He was later identified as Isnilon Hapilon who carries a P10 million bounty from President Duterte and a separate $5 million reward from the US government for his arrest. When the smoke of four hours of gunfire cleared, seven other militants lay dead.
Since Day 1 Daniel who has been in Marawi since the start of the siege in May 23 was happy at the result of the operation because this would mean he would soon be home. He called to check on Robelyn and their daughter, Kiesh Darriel Monday morning and continued their conversation on Facebook because he was trying to send over photos as proof that they killed Hapilon and Maute. Around noontime, he sent a message in Ilocano : “mabisinak” (I’m hungry) to which Robelyn replied, “mangan kan ah?” (go eat). There was a lull in the thread of conversation.
Robelyn said “by late afternoon she saw posts of his mates condoling with us saying that my husband was dead. We waited for his superiors to confirm if it was true? I can’t remember anymore who called. Maybe the liaison of their battalion, I can’t remember because there were so many calls.”
Fellow SAF troopers said Daniel was killed by a sniper’s bullet after he went to eat lunch. No other details were provided and Robelyn still could not believe. She was just talking to him Monday morning.
SAF Director Benjamin Lusad said Daniel was on his last test mission with the Scout Rangers when they cornered the two terrorists.
Daniel was part of Class 200 of the Scout Ranger Regiment as part of their skills capability upgrade. He was a graduate of the Philippine National Police Special Action Force (PNP-SAF) Commando course in 2014 and belong to SAF Maragtas 64, Team II.