Reports from Correspondents: Ka Haren and Ka Baste: Revolutionary heroism in the face of the enemy
On the afternoon of October 9, 2001, troops of the 50th IB encountered a unit of the NPA Alfredo Cesar Command in Ilocos Sur deployed in San Gaspar, Salcedo. In the ensuing firefight, two comrades died and a fascist enemy soldier was wounded.
Ka Baste (Victorino "Bong" Madarang), was the unit's team leader. It was he who was able to fire first and hit one of the enemy soldiers. After the wounded soldier fell, the enemy responded with rapid fire. Ka Baste ordered the unit to retreat. While the comrades were maneuvering to withdraw, Ka Baste heroically faced the attacking enemy troops in an effort to scatter their ranks and pin them down. In the exchange of fire, Ka Baste was hit in the chest. With his dying breath and last ounce of strength, he told his comrades to take his rifle and his other things and urged them to "carry on the struggle."
Meanwhile, Ka Haren (Glory Bangtuan) had followed Ka Baste to support him in pinning down the enemy. In the firefight, she was slightly wounded in the temple.
Ka Haren was alive when taken by the enemy. Some villagers tried to apply first aid on her but were prevented by the soldiers from doing so. Instead, the butchers purposely left Ka Haren to bleed to death and suffer all night. By the time she was taken to a hospital the following day, it was too late. According to a doctor who examined Ka Haren, she would have survived if she had been given proper medical attention.
In an interview with the media, the military told a brazen lie in claiming that the soldiers were unable to immediately bring Ka Haren to a hospital, since the wounded soldier was promptly brought to a medical facility.
Meantime, Ka Baste's body was mercilessly riddled with bullets. He had received two fatal gunshot wounds in the chest. But when relatives claimed his body, it had been riddled with bullet holes from head to foot.
The Alfredo Cesar Command strongly condemned the willful deprivation of medical services to Ka Haren, a fighter who had been rendered hors de combat, and the desecration of Ka Baste's remains. These are brazen violations of the international rules of war, Protocols I and II of the Geneva Conventions. This also violated the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitdarian Law (CARHRIHL). These agreements clearly stipulate that parties in conflict are obliged to extend proper medical attention to adversaries captured or wounded in action and no longer able to fight. It strictly prohibits torture and summary executions and the desecration of dead bodies.
The Alfredo Cesar Command paid tribute to the heroism and courage shown by Ka Baste and Ka Haren, whom they hailed as true heroes of the revolution. Their gallantry shines ever brighter in the face of the savagery of the reactionary and despised AFP.
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