The commander of the 11th Scout Ranger Battalion—who died trying to save a wounded comrade in the battle of Marawi City —received the Medal of Valor posthumously from President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday.
The widow of Army Capt. Rommel Sandoval, Maria Ana Rosario Sandoval, received the award from the President during the 82nd founding anniversary of the Armed Forces of the Philippines at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.
Sandoval received the medal for “acts of conspicuous courage, gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty while serving as commanding officer of the 11th Scout Ranger Battalion,” the AFP said in a statement.
The captain also posthumously received the Order of Lapu-Lapu (Magalong Medal), awarded to “officials and personnel of the government and private individuals who have rendered extraordinary service or have made exceptional contributions to the success of an activity pursuant to a campaign or advocacy of the President.”
Sandoval was among the 165 government troops and more than 1,000 persons killed in the five-month war between government and Islamic State-linked Maute terrorists in Marawi City.
Duterte also bestowed the Order of Lapu-Lapu (Kampilan and Kamagi medals) to 27 other soldiers who fought in Marawi.
Meanwhile, two months since the end of the armed conflict in Marawi, thousands of displaced residents remain unable to return home and are in need of help and attention, the International Committee of the Red Cross lamented Wednesday.
The ICRC said majority of the displaced people staying in towns east of Lake Lanao come from the worst-hit parts of Marawi City that are yet to be opened for residents to return to.
“They are still dependent on relatives, the authorities and aid organizations,” the group said.
The Red Cross recently distributed food and hygiene supplies to thousands of people still scattered across evacuation centers in Lanao del Sur.
Aisah Toroganan, a mother of five, has been living with her aunt in Molundo, Lanao del Sur, east of the lake, since the fighting broke out in May.
Toroganan said they left their home and everything they had behind once they felt it was too dangerous for them to stay in Marawi, which was leveled by a five-month-long clash between terrorists and government forces.
“Where we live now, we are 34 people occupying three small houses in the compound. The place is cramped, and we can barely find a place to sleep,” she said.
“We try to find ways to earn extra cash to support ourselves. For example, I use my skills as a seamstress by offering sewing services to neighbors, but that is not enough to help make ends meet. Most of us still rely on the assistance—especially food rations—that the government and other agencies give us,” Toroganan added.
She is looking forward to return to their house in Marawi once they will be allowed to do so, and hopes to receive seed capital to restart her business and extra cash to repair any damage to their house.
The AFP said the 24 soldiers who received the Kampilan medals were honored for “having been wounded as a direct result of their participation during the Marawi campaign against ISIS-inspired Maute terrorists.”
Sgt. Edwin Osario, Sgt. Marvin Paderan, and Cpl. Andy Bitoon also received the Kamagi medals from the President for their efforts in against the Maute terrorists and communist rebels.
From Dec. 13 to 15, the ICRC in collaboration with the Philippine Red Cross distributed half-month food rations and hygiene supplies to over 16,500 displaced people in five municipalities of Lanao del Sur.
Each family received 25 kilos of rice, one liter of soy sauce, one liter of oil, 12 tins of sardines, one kilo of sugar, a half-kilo of salt, two 20-liter jerry cans, and hygiene items.
“We are in contact with the authorities, armed forces and non-state armed groups at the local level, so they understand who we are and allow us to deliver our humanitarian response,” ICRC delegate Meher Khatcherian said.
“To optimize available resources, we coordinate the distribution work with the main government agencies and other organizations. While they support the displaced people in the west of Lake Lanao, we focus on the eastern part,” he added.
Having continuously helped those affected by the fighting in this area, the ICRC enjoys a level of acceptance that allows it to deliver aid in hard-to-reach areas where other organizations have limited access.
The ICRC is a neutral, impartial and independent humanitarian organization whose exclusively humanitarian mission is to protect the lives and dignity of victims of armed conflict and other situations of violence and to provide them with assistance.
The group also endeavors to prevent suffering by promoting and strengthening humanitarian law and universal humanitarian principles.