Two Philippine Air Force (PAF) pilots, Maj. Jude Salang-oy and 1^st Lt. April John (AJ) Dadulla, died from the still unexplained crash of their FA-50 fighter jet on the slopes of Mt. Kalatungan in Bukidnon province past midnight last March 4 during a tactical nighttime operation that provided air support to government troops against the New People’s Army (NPA) in Cabanglasan town. They have since been expectedly mourned and honored by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and their local communities. Much of the information here is from newspaper reports.

The AFP said in a statement last March 6 that they “gave their lives in the line of duty…. Their unwavering dedication, bravery, and ultimate sacrifice are a testament to the extraordinary courage of every Filipino soldier who answers to the call of our nation…. As we grieve this profound loss, we also draw strength from their heroism – a reminder that our freedom and peace are built upon the sacrifice of those who stand guard… [Their bravery] will forever serve as a beacon, inspiring every soldier, sailor, airman, and marine in the AFP.” Actually, the NPA practically says nearly the same in honor of its own fallen in the field of the local communist armed conflict.

The two airmen were honored at the now more famous Villamor Air Base upon the arrival of their Philippine flag-draped caskets last March 8. Their families and relatives were present for military honors led by Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr., AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. and PAF Chief Lt. Gen. Arthur Cordura. Special Assistant to the President Antonio Lagdameo was there to represent President Marcos Jr. who was not able to attend due to “an urgent matter.” (Incidentally, Secretary Lagdameo was the lead government signatory to the peace negotiations supposed “breakthrough” Oslo Joint Statement of November 23, 2023.) The two airmen were awarded the Distinguished Aviation Cross.

Maj, Salang-oy’s family and local community in barangay Taloctoc, Tanudan town, Kalinga province also prepared for his wake and burial. According to Kalinga Rep. Allen Mangaoang, his community there helped shape him into “an officer and gentlemen” and would honor his life and service to the country. He said the community may perform a ritual in his honor, a tradition reserved for those who died tragically as heroes.

On the other side of the local communist armed conflict, the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) in a statement last March 6 “On the crash of an FA-50 and AFP policy of terrorist overkill” said “The Filipino people deplore how the AFP is hailing the two pilots who died in the crash as heroes, when in fact they were instruments of fascist terror, bringing fear and destruction to communities where they drop their payload of bombs.” Granting that there was what the CPP “described as terrorism from the sky” in the AFP-PAF aerial bombing operations last March 4 in sitio Mainaga, barangay Iba, Cabanglasan, Bukidnon where “at least eight massive bombs [were] dropped on all sides” but “far from any unit of the NPA” and instead “terrorized people living in nearby communities,” was it called for to still besmirch the two fallen airmen as “fascist soldiers” ?

The international humanitarian law compliance, military necessity and civilian prejudice, if any, of that airstrike in that particular sitio of Bukidnon called by the AFP high command is one thing, and it would indeed be good if an independent and competent monitoring and verification mechanism or body can look into that and other contested serious incidents in the local communist armed conflict. The deaths of the two pilots of a FA-50 while carrying out orders on their part of that military operation are another thing, in which professional military tradition calls for honors or at least a modicum of courtesies to fallen enemies.

A quick internet search on this indicates that honoring fallen soldiers typically involves acknowledging their sacrifice and bravery in battle, even while recognizing the opposing sides in conflict often through respectful gestures that demonstrate a basic human respect for life lost, regardless of allegiance. According to Defense and Aviation Information in Military History, in the middle of a war it is very difficult to put hatred aside to pay tribute to the enemy who fell in combat. Fighting for your country or people does not mean fighting with hatred or renouncing honor. And that is known by many who have served their countries or peoples honorably in various armies for centuries. Although it seems something very rare, it has occurred on many occasions throughout history.

Just the most famous example was that of the fallen greatest German ace aviator Manfred von Richtofen, better known as the “Red Baron” (with 80 credited kills), in World War I when he was shot down by a Canadian pilot, Lieutenant Wilfrid “Wop” May on April 21, 1918. The day after, the Australian Flying Corps 3^rd Squadron fired salutes of honor during his burial in France, where the Australian soldiers also gave him the present arms, as if one of their own had fallen. His enemies wrote this epitaph on his grave : “Here lies a brave man, a noble adversary and a true man of honor. May he rest in peace.”

And in Philippine history itself, the first President of the country Emilio Aguinaldo gave homage to the courage of the defeated and fallen Spanish soldiers, known as “the last in the Philippines,” who fought at the Siege of Baler in 1898-99. Aguinaldo described their defense of their last bastion, the Church of San Luis in Baler, as “an epic so glorious and so typical of the legendary courage of the sons of El Cid and Pelayo.” The Philippine Army now pays this tribute annually.

If one side cannot honor fallen enemy soldiers through respectful gestures like this, then perhaps that side would just best avoid disrespectful remarks about them. This is simply in accord with basic “morals or good customs” especially for Filipinos, not just military tradition of professional armies. This should also apply to the AFP when it comes to fallen NPA Commanders and Red fighters, starting with preventing their dead bodies from being despoiled and facilitating the return of their remains to their families.

Even our longstanding libel law militates against “public and malicious” remarks “tending… to blacken the memory of one who is dead.” In the case of the two fallen pilots, this is like adding fresh insult to fresh injury, like rubbing salt on fresh wounds, especially of their families and local communities, who are after all still part of the Filipino masses, just like the two pilots were. This is a sure way to lose more hearts and minds of the people. Have basic “morals or good customs” and military courtesies to the fallen enemy also fallen by the wayside of fratricidal and class hatred for the enemy ?

But beyond winning the war, even small gestures of basic military courtesies to fallen enemy soldiers, just like better adherence to international humanitarian law, “makes a substantial contribution to peace in that it promotes humanity in time of war… [which] helps lay the foundation on which a peaceful settlement can be built,” as a hopefully better way to end the local communist armed conflict.

Soliman M. Santos, Jr.

Naga City, 18 March 2025