10 p.m, night of January 24, 2015 about 390 SAF commandos are on their way to an unfamiliar territory to carry out a classified mission a mission, which the SAF are the most capable of The Special Action Force or SAF is an elite unit of the Philippine National Police The members were chosen among a number of participants who had undergone a tough selection procedure the qualified members then received special and intense training to handle operations such as raids, hostage rescue, and counter-terrorism their involvement to end coup d'etat attempts in the late 1980's and the Zamboanga Siege in 2013 are just some of the many accomplishments of the Special Action Force. months before this mission, an intelligence report allegedly from the United States, revealed that two of the most wanted terrorists in several countries, are currently hiding in the marshlands of Mamasapano, Maguindanao, Philippines. the objective of the SAF is to infiltrate and capture terrorists Abdul Basit Usman and the main target, one of FBI's Most Wanted Terrorists Zulkifli Bin Hir alias Marwan Marwan is a Malaysian terrorist who specializes in bomb making together with his group, Marwan was involved in a number of attacks and plots in Southeast Asia including a reported plot targeting the Pope during his visit in the Philippines fortunately, it was averted. this mission however, was not new to the SAF efforts to capture Marwan can be dated back to 2010 wherein nine consecutive attempts have been made but none were successful most missions were aborted and in some cases, Marwan, was able to escape but this time, officials responsible of the operation were confident that the outcome would be different with this confidence in mind, the SAF commandos prepares as they get closer to the site to carry out the mission a mission that will forever be remembered by Filipinos A mission named: OPLAN EXODUS divided as Special Action Companies, the SAF commandos will follow a planned route and will position at assigned locations on the map the 84th SAC or Seaborne which is composed of 41 commandos is the team assigned to capture Marwan and Usman they will be the first one to advance, and will control the movement of other SACs just behind Seaborne the 55th SAC, composed of 36 commandos will become the blocking force which will serve as the primary support and security for Seaborne the remaining SACs, which are composed of more than 300 SAF commandos will serve as support groups, securing the exits of both SACs meanwhile, the 43rd SAC will position along the drop-off point, securing both ends of the highway the plan was estimated to be done at a specific time however, this was unlikely as the terrain leading to the targets was a huge obstacle for the commandos the marshland was covered with vast areas of cornfields and deep rivers moreover, it was not their territory throughout the marshland, several armed groups are situated at certain areas the largest of which are the BIFF and the MILF The BIFF is a militant organization based in Mindanao seeking to have an Independent Islamic State for the Muslim minority meanwhile, the MILF also a group in Mindanao, is an organization which seeks to separate from the central government and have an autonomous region for the Moro people fortunately, the government and the MILF are currently in an ongoing peace talks prohibiting both parties from doing aggressive actions, basically, a ceasefire however, due to the mission being classified, the MILF were not informed of the operation At about 11 pm of January 24 Oplan Exodus Commenced the 41 commandos of Seaborne led by Supt. Raymond Train advances the remaining SACs are waiting for the right time to depart as their movements depended on the movement of Seaborne however, due to an unfamiliar terrain, and the strong current of the rivers Seaborne did minor changes to the planned route this caused a delay in the departure of the 55th SAC and the remaining support groups Marwan's hut was covered with improvised traps Meanwhile hidden from sight, Abdul Basit Usman, escapes Unfortunately, the gunshots awoke the armed groups in the area Seaborne had successfully neutralized, one of the world's most dangerous men without delay, they took a DNA sample and a picture was taken a SAF commando then sent a text message to the command saying "Mike one, bingo." which meant that the target was neutralized triumph was felt among the commandos outside as they've heard the word bingo But that triumph won't last As Seaborne attempts to unite with the 55th SAC for the exit they were already surrounded Meanwhile, the 55th SAC which was delayed for hours, attempts to reach their designated waypoint as they were navigating through the cornfields of Barangay Tukanalipao they heard men shouting around the area immediately they formed a defensive perimeter across the river they saw MILF members gathering near the bridge the 55th SAC waited their only cover was the cornfield and the darkness but not for long as dawn breaks, the 77 commandos of the 55th SAC and Seaborne are to be surrounded by over 1,000 combined members of the MILF, BIFF, and other Private Armed Groups at the location of Seaborne, it was a fight for survival thinking they were unmatched by the unknown number of armed groups shooting at them they decided to retreat to the river and took a different exit route to avoid the enemies but then again, they got surrounded during this time the SAF commandos of the 55th SAC and Seaborne continuously called for reinforcements this led the remaining Special Action Companies to advance but then eventually retreated as they were met with gunfire at the same time the situation reached SAF director Getulio Napeñas Jr. the commander who oversees the operation at about 6 am, Napeñas sends a message to the Army's 6th Infantry Division Commander informing him about the operation however, according to the commander, he did receive a message but it did not mention the need for reinforcements fortunately, the said commander, Major General Pangilinan sent out a reinforcement team after details of the ongoing firefight have circulated moreover, Pangilinan orders the brigade general of the AFP to notify the MILF of the situation which again was in an ongoing peace talks with the government at about 8:30 am, the army arrived according to the army, they saw the remaining SAF commandos just sitting on the highway the army then asked for coordinates from two SAF commanders to locate the 55th SAC and Seaborne unfortunately, they don't know after figuring out the location, the army advances but the remaining SAF members reportedly refused to go with them according to a report, there was no command telling the SAF what to do at about 9: 00 am, the army received a call from Seaborne informing them that they are on a hill in barangay tukanalipao, surrounded by the MILF However, AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Catapang ordered his men to not engage the MILF because they don't want to endanger the ongoing peace process the army then proceeded to extract them but along the way they were also met with gunfire and forced them to retaliate the firefight lasted for several hours until the army decided to deploy white phosphorus at about 5:30 pm the white phosphorus are used for cover and as markers for the artillery team to calculate their location minimizing the risk of a friendly fire as the armed groups saw the white phosphorus at about 6 pm, the firefight stopped and the MILF announces that their fighters had withdrawn from the area shortly after, the search for the 77 commandos began but the story goes deeper than it seemed investigations done after the incident, uncovered something behind the people responsible of the operation it was revealed that former President and also the commander-in-chief Benigno Aquino III allowed his close friend former PNP Chief Alan Purisima to participate and allegedly gave him control of the operation however, the said PNP Chief was suspended at that time currently being investigated for an alleged graft case even so Aquino entrusted him the operation, along with the SAF Director Getulio Napeñas Jr. moreover, it was reported that Deputy Director General Leonardo Espina was supposed to be the one who had the authority to oversee the entire operation but due to an unknown reason, he was excluded and was only informed on the morning of January 25 with the number of revelations being brought to light, the officials responsible of the operation fell into a blame game, taking turns in blaming one another in regards to the MILF questions arise as to why Marwan was near if not within their territory during the senate probe on the incident Senate Majority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano, fired questions directed to the MILF asking about their alleged role in providing a haven for the terrorists but all of these were denied by the MILF insisting that Marwan took refuge within the BIFF territory this was supported by Chief Peace Adviser Teresita Deles saying that the MILF already ended ties with the terrorists in a different investigation, autopsy reports done by the PNP revealed that most members received a fatal shot to the head this can be done by the snipers however, this also suggests that some were shot up close this theory was confirmed when a video circulated through social media showed a brutal killing of one SAF commando up close besides the investigation done by the government, the MILF conducted their own according to their investigation, the MILF lost 17 of their members and 3 civilians had died in regards to the Oplan Exodus, the MILF said that they were not aware of the operation and even with the ceasefire prohibiting both parties from doing aggressive actions they said that they were not able to identify the SAF commandos and claimed that the said commandos fired at them first these claims led people to debate if this was a case of a mis-encounter or just pure massacre the senate which condemned the manner of how the SAF members were killed labeled the incident as massacre but the Commission on Human Rights Chairperson disagrees with them stating that "categorizing the incident as a massacre is excessive." The tragic events of January 25, 2015 cannot and will not be forgotten by the filipino people during that day, families lost a father, a brother, a son, and a hero thus questions and outrage remain Who was at fault? Who is to be blamed? and has justice already been given? but one thing is certain and will surely be remembered the bravery and sacrifice of the Fallen 44.