The “Forty-Four”

…policemen heroes of Mamasapano

By Apolinario Villalobos

At Mamasapano…there at Maguindanao

the “forty-four” met their fate,

Pawned by one whose selfish desire,

Led them to the fatal mire.

Wasted youth …..

but never their courage,

Wasted strength ….

But never their ideals,

That like the wind ……

shall blow without end.

(The “forty-four” policemen, mostly young, were massacred at Mamasapano, Maguindanao on January 25, 2015. They were members of the Special Action Force (SAF) of the Philippine National Police who tried to serve the warrant of arrest to two notorious terrorists, Abdulbasit Usman and Zulkipli Bin Hir alias Abu Marwan. Unfortunately, the contingent was surprised by an ambush staged by the BIFF, and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) that claimed “misencounter” due to the lack of coordination, but which most Filipinos did not believe.)