20 February 2015 – The Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco paid tribute to the 44 Special Action Force (SAF) commandos who perished in Mamasapano on January 25 by observing a minute of silence at the Consulate General’s consular area last January 30. Col. Lyndon Cubos, outgoing Philippine National Police Liaison Officer in San Francisco and himself a former SAF commando, paid tribute to his colleagues before members of the Filipino community who were present at the Consulate General.
A memorial was also held at the Kalayaan Hall of the Philippine Center on February 06. Fr. Arnold Zamora celebrated a Mass while Philippine Consul General Henry S. Bensurto, Jr. and Police Senior Superintendent Antonio Mendoza, the new Philippine Police Liaison Officer in San Francisco, gave heartwarming tributes to the victims. They also requested everyone to pray for the families of the soldiers.
Throughout the memorial, a video featuring the individual SAF commandos was shown. In his remarks, Consul General Bensurto said that the video drove the point that those who died were not anonymous, faceless men. He said that the 44 SAF personnel were examples of ordinary people doing extraordinary things, and encouraged everyone to take inspiration from the SAF by living our “ordinary lives to the most heroic degree”. He stressed that peace comes at a cost, and that Filipino men and women are being sent to Mindanao not to make war, but to attain peace.
PSSUPT Mendoza, also a former SAF commando, paid tribute to his fallen colleagues and explained how the Philippine National Police (PNP) continues to perform its mission as “Tagapagligtas”. He added that the PNP is ready to serve and defend every Filipino, even under extraordinary circumstances.
The mass was attended by Filipino-American Law Enforcement Officers (FALEO), Lt. Eric Quema (ret.), Lt. Randy Caturay, Ofr. Roel Dilag and Sgt. Glenn Sylvester (ret.), as well as Daly City Police Captain Patrick Hensley, as well as the Filipino community and friends from the media.
A condolence book has been placed in the Consular Area so that Filipinos are able to pay their respects to the SAF-44. END