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LAST OUTPOST | Soldiers endure loneliness, spartan living to guard remote islands in
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a salute to the brave men and women of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
LAST OUTPOST | Soldiers endure loneliness, spartan living to guard remote islands in Spratlys
By: TEXT AND PHOTOS BY ABIGAIL KWOK, INTERAKSYON.COM
November 25, 2012 9:45 PM
AYUNGIN REEF, Kalayaan Island Group, Philippines This place is probably the loneliest place a soldier can be assigned to. There is no land, only limitless water, like living in your very own water world.
The seven-man team stationed here on one of the Philippine-occupied areas in what is more popularly known as the Spratlys face a unique set-up: their entire military detachment is a broken warship.
Back in the 1990s, the Armed Forces of the Philippines intentionally ran its Landing Transport Ship 57 (BRP Sierra Madre) aground on this reef, located 176 nautical miles from mainland Palawan, so the country can claim it as its own territory.
Now, the ship is rusty, full of holes and is a very dangerous place for anyone to live in.
Medyo mahirap ang buhay dito dahil walang puno, walang lupa, pero nakakapag-adjust naman kami [Lifes quite hard here because here are no trees, no ground, but we are adjusting somehow], says Petty Officer 3rd Class Benedicto de Castro, one of the soldiers stationed here.
The soldiers--five Marines and two Navy personnel--spend most of their days fishing, listening to the transistor radio or just patrolling the ship. There are no cellphone signals, no cable TV.
Thats why it came as a surprise to the soldiers when their commanding officer, Lt. Gen. Juancho Sabban, arrived at their detachment Thursday afternoon with a tub of ice cream.
Marooned for months with nothing to eat but fish, the soldiers faces light up like little children when the tub of ice cream was placed before their ocean-weary eyes.
Soldiers had the same reaction in other Philippine-claimed islands that Sabban visited.
Masayang masaya kami na nakakita kami ng ice cream, high morale ito sa amin, says 2nd Lt. Christopher Maguensay, commanding officer of the Lawak Island detachment.
Soldiers of Lawak Island (international name: Nanshan Island, located some 180 nautical miles from Ulugan Bay) crowd around a tub of ice cream personally delivered to them by their commanding officer, Lt. General Sabban. Within seconds, the ice cream is reduced to nothing.
Malungkot dito. Miss na miss ko na ang anak ko. [We are lonely. I miss my child badly], admits Staff Sergeant Rufino Flores, 49, amid a big spoonful of ice cream.
Unknown to many, the militarys Western Command has deployed teams of Marines and Navy personnel to nine of the Philippine-claimed islands and reefs to ensure that no foreign country will encroach on them.
While the soldiers face no immediate threat of attack, they still have to brave the unpredictable weather, the extreme loneliness and boredom all in the name of duty.
Lawak Island has a small detachment of 12 soldiers. They live by fishing and spend most of their days doing so. The island spans almost 5 square hectares surrounded by lush trees and a white sandy beach.
Manguensay says he tries to boost his mens morale by encouraging them to engage in sports and discussions.
Dapat busy kami lagi para di kami ma-bore. Tapos pinapatawag ko sila sa family nila minsan, tig-iisang minute [We always need to be busy to avoid boredom. Every now and then I let them call their families also; each one gets one minute on the phone], he adds.
Vietnamese and Filipino fishermen who pass by the island often give vegetables and fish to the soldiers, all in good faith.
Sabban says Lawak Island would make for a great tourist destination.
They intended to have an airstrip here for commuter planes so from Puerto (Princesa City), it only takes one hour by air. So if theres an air strip here, many hotels, cold storage for the fishing industry---thats a very big deal, he says.
Another nearby Philippine-occupied island, Patag Island (Flat Island, very near Lawak Island), which spans only about a square hectare, would also make for a great island-hopping destination.
Parola Island (Northeast Cay, located 240 nautical miles from Ulugan Bay), the farthest Philippine-occupied island, is largely undeveloped, its resources untapped. Just a few kilometers across the island is the Vietnamese-occupied Pugad Island. From a distance at night, one can see the stark difference as the Vietnamese island is filled with concrete structures, while Parola Island is dark; the light from the lighthouse flickers and then its gone. Locals say the Vietnamese island houses that countrys naval academy.
Thirty-one years ago I was the commander of this island and when I was here I would say that our island was much better than theirs simply because there were more troops here and the surroundings well-maintained. It seems that we are lagging very far behind, Sabban says.
Sadly, the proposal to develop the islands still remains as it is a mere proposal. A rusty bulldozer sits idle outside the soldiers detachment in Lawak, wasted away by years, with nothing to contribute to progress.
Staff Sergeant Engelbert Madrid, detachment commander of Parola Island security detachment, admits feeling a little envious of the Vietnamese on Pugad Island.
This place is really sad because our neighbor is Vietnam, but we cant go over there for a visit; all we can do is stare and be envious, he says, speaking in Filipino.
The soldiers, however, remain unfazed by their situation. They spend most of their days fishing and planting trees and vegetables, engaging in leisure activities and developing the island in their own little way.
Sabban says that the presence of Marines in the disputed islands is significant: it is meant to let other countries know that these are Philippine-occupied areas.
We are not confrontational; what wed like to do is to let others know that this is Philippine territory. We have to warn them that this is Philippine territory and they should respect our sovereignty, he says.
Petty Officer 2nd Class John Kenneth Atchina, 42, stationed at Likas Island (West York Island, 240 nautical miles from Ulugan Bay), is on his sixth tour of duty in the Spratlys. He has been deployed to many of the disputed islands since 2005. He admits its no easy feat but sees it an honor to be one of the soldiers to defend the countrys territories at this raw frontier.
Masarap yung pakiramdam, he says. Kaya kahit siguro palagi kami dito mag duty okay lang [The feeling is great. Maybe even if were deployed here often its still okay].
Sabban says that while the government has yet to tap the rich resources on these islands, the Marines will continue to stay there not only to protect the territory but also to enjoy the many islands rich resources.
Comments
Kudos to this soldiers.
have to agree on the "poor" part. kahit na mismo uniform allowance kinukurakot ng higher ranking officers.
kesyo sila raw bibili ng standardized uniform. kukunin ang uniform allowance na pwede sana makabili ng 3 na uniforms per year pero ang ibibigay sa sundalo ay isa lang.
kaya minsan makakakita ka ng sundalo na faded palagi ang uniform.
meron nga meal allowance ang corrupt na wife ni general so so ginawang "meal vouchers" sa cafeteria nya na ka mahal mahal.
If I were the Chinese military attache, I would just Sottocopy the Inquirer.
Knowing how they reacted to a tub of ice cream, baka papuntahin dun yun mga mapuputing chinese girls may dalang beer at sisig. Pag gising nila, aside from splitting headache - natayuan na ng outpost ng china yun islands. tapos palutang lutang na lang sila somewhere.
Sounds family... :rotflmao:
natawa ako dito hahaha
I've personally been to some detachments, outposts in very remote areas and they live in very harsh conditions there. And unlike in the Spratly's, the threat of a firefight (being attacked/overrun by rebels) in these areas is much more real every single day. Its amazing how they can even enforce discipline.
In Mindanao, a Sgt had to beg from our trekking group for some spare paracetamol because one of his men has had a fever for two days. No help was forthcoming in that God-forsaken, middle-of-nowhere place even if they had radioed for it. Good thing we were already on the way down so we decided to give him more than just paracetamol. We even gave them our canned goods and noodles. Was he ever grateful!
In the mountains of Ilocos Sur, we came upon a small roadside outpost (a bamboo lean-to) manned by a squad of Army soldiers. They were cooking some rice for lunch in a small pot over a wood fire. And all they had for ulam was 'talbos ng kamote' which they placed over the rice in the pot. We didn't want to belabor the obvious as there were really no other supplies lying around but we still asked them if it was really all they had and the officer said, "Yan lang po talaga. Tyaga-tyaga na lang." Naawa naman yung group leader namin. Luckily we still had some rice, canned goods and noodles in our support truck and so we gave them to the soldiers.
Common ang ganyang scenario sa mga remote outposts. Kaya tuloy naiinis ko pag nakakakita ako ng mga mayayamang generals dito sa Manila.
You are great and you deserved the gratitude of those soldiers. Pero pansin ko lang palagi kang may dalang noodles. Ayaw ng CBCP ng noodles kasi walang sustansya yan eh at mataas pa ang sodium. For soup, magbaon ka na lang ng monggo o dried seaweeds para mas nutritious naman ang inyong meals habang nag hiking.
Actually, beans is ok sana to carry sa akyat kaso you need things to be tasty din kasi. Minsan psych thingy ang mga dinadala ng hikers lalo na sa mahihirap na climb.
For me, when I climbed the Akiki trail of Mt. Pulag dinala ko jelly ace.
I tasted the dried seaweed thingy. Ecktch! Sorry kaso hindi kaya ng tyan ko lasa :(
Anyways, you should try hiking din
I used to like hiking. But I have had two incidents where we were interrupted by communist rebels. In the first incidence, they did not show their firearms but they interviewed us for our social and political beliefs for 3 hours. The longest 3 hours in my life. I had to rely on my intelligence, hehehe, to impress them with my knowledge on leftist social issues, concept and arguments. The second incidence was when they showed up while we were in head-high grasses. They had firearms and did not order us to stop. They were hoping to chat up. I was not in the mood and gently walked away. That was the longest 3 minutes in my life. I was waiting of anybody to shout to us an order to stop.
If social peace comes back to our country, I will hike again. In the meantime, sex is equally exhausting but slightly less risky.
Guilty as charged! Ha-ha-ha!!
May encounter akong ganyan din nung nag ride ako motorcycle ko. Papunta akong Matnog Sorsogon along the way and I think it's on Maharlika Highway ang daming unmanned checkpoints pero may mga barricade that you have swerve around. So maybe baka may bantay hindi lang nagpapakita. Anyway, Natsempuhan ako ng isang check point around 2am. (solo ride). Medyo kinabahan na ako kasi I haven't seen a vehicle for an hour na riding down that road. Tinanung kung saan punta ko marami daw nahoholdap sa kalye na yun and they didn't ask for my license or anything so hindi PnP ito maybe AFP. Pero I dismounted na rin. Nakita ko yung pagkain nila dalawang sardinas at dalawang lucky me. Apat sila sa post. Gustuhin ko man it's not wise bumunot ako ng wallet at abutan. Inalok ko ng yosi which they took so I ended up having a smoke myself with them. Grabe ang lamok at ang ingay ng gubat sa gabi. Wala pa rin nadaan na sasakyan after a cigarette nung magpapaalam na ako naalala ko marami akong dalang silk Balaclavas so pinakita ko sa kanila and gave one each. Tuwang tuwa naman sila kasi para daw di lamukin mukha nila at batok at para sa ginaw din daw. I made friends and left a check point with armed men wearing black Balaclavas. Kawawa sa takot ang susunod na dadaan dun ah he he
Sa personal provisions ko, standard yan. Favorite ko yung may laman sa loob na LYCHEE or NATA DE COCO. Yummy treat pag trail breaks.
On the Topic: I know of a Marine who has been assigned there sa Spratlys in the early 80s. Talagang boredom daw ang kalaban. Wala raw silbi sweldo/pera mo run kasi wala namang mabibili (pwera lang kung pangsugal). Kaya marami sa mga Marines dun, misis na lang ang kumukobra ng sweldo nila sa Manila. Gustong-gusto raw ng mga misis kapag Spratly deployment.
Sila kaya ang ideploy dito?
Mukhang mas masarap ang buhay nung mga Generals. Macboys mga coterminus mga yan. Yung mga generals na incharge lalo na sa mga procurements and contracts ang sarap ng buhay.
OT: Yung avatar mo- was that pic taken from "How to Walk Silly" sa book ng Monty Python? I have that book- given to me by my Aussie friends years ago and I still remember that image there. IIRC, its the British comedian John Cleese yata yung naka-pose nang ganyan dun.
Yeah, monthy python fan here. The silly walk is one of the sketch. Napaghahalata ang edad. Ni! Ni! Ni!