The Pata Island massacre refers to an event that took place on February 12, 1981, on
Pata Island,
Sulu
Sulu (), officially the Province of Sulu (Tausug language, Tausūg: ''Wilāya sin Lupa' Sūg''; tl, Lalawigan ng Sulu), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province of the Philippines in the Sulu Archipelago and part of the Bangsamoro, Bangsamor ...
province in the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
. More than 100
Philippine Army
The Philippine Army (PA) ( Tagalog: ''Hukbong Katihan ng Pilipinas''; in literal English: ''Army of the Ground of the Philippines''; in literal Spanish: ''Ejército de la Tierra de la Filipinas'') is the main, oldest and largest branch of the ...
officers and men were killed by
Moro natives in what was called by retired Major General
Delfin Castro as "the biggest number of casualties incurred by the
Armed Forces of the Philippines
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) ( fil, Sandatahang Lakas ng Pilipinas) are the military forces of the Philippines. It consists of three main service branches; the Army, the Air Force, and the Navy (including the Marine Corps). The P ...
in a single incident since the start of the
conflict in Mindanao and had the dubious distinction of achieving the biggest losses in AFP firearms and equipment in a single incident."
An estimated 3,000
Tausug civilians, including women and children, were killed in months of shelling by military forces in 1982 and was tagged as the Pata Island massacre.
Events prior to massacre
The
1st Infantry Division of the Philippine Army conducted an operation on Pata Island on February 9, 1981, after receiving reports of
landings being made there by
Moro National Liberation Front
The Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF; ar, الجبهة الوطنية لتحرير مورو) is a political organization in the Philippines that was founded in 1972. It started as a splinter group of the Muslim Independence Movement. The M ...
elements. The 31st Infantry Battalion was at the forefront of this operation, assisted by two other battalions. After being assured by local
barangay
A barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as barrio (abbreviated as Bo.), is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district, or ward. In metropolitan ...
leaders that no MNLF forces had landed, the 31st Infantry Battalion began to withdraw its troops from the island on February 12, 1981, leaving its Headquarters Service Company along with battalion commander Lieutenant Colonel Jacinto Sardual.
The massacre
Lt. Col. Sardual called on a
Civilian Home Defense Forces
Civilians under international humanitarian law are "persons who are not members of the armed forces" and they are not "combatants if they carry arms openly and respect the laws and customs of war". It is slightly different from a non-combatant, b ...
commander Unad Masillam before his planned departure. Masillam and his men then accompanied Sardual back to the Headquarters Service Company's encampment, at which point Masillam asked Sardual to form up the company and stack up their weapons so that both sides could conduct a farewell ceremony. Sardual, who was a
dental officer
Dentistry, also known as dental medicine and oral medicine, is the branch of medicine focused on the teeth, gums, and mouth. It consists of the study, diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases, disorders, and conditions of ...
,
complied and gave the order for his men to do so.
The Moros surrounded the government troops and then opened fire using automatic rifles. Responding soldiers who later discovered the bodies of their dead comrades reported finding spent
.30 caliber
The 7.62 mm caliber is a nominal caliber used for a number of different cartridges. Historically, this class of cartridge was commonly known as .30 caliber, the imperial unit and customary unit equivalent, and was most commonly used for i ...
shell casings and
links at the Moros' firing positions, indicating the use of
machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) a ...
s.
Accounts vary regarding the number of dead Philippine Army troopers; reports indicate a body count of 119
and 124.
Some of the bodies were found with defensive wounds on their arms inflicted by bladed weapons; many bodies were scorched, indicating that an attempt to burn them was made. Three of the company survived, all of them wounded.
Retaliation
The
Philippine Air Force
The Philippine Air Force (PAF) ( tgl, Hukbong Himpapawid ng Pilipinas, , Army of the Air of the Philippines) ( es, Ejército Aérea del Filipinas, , Ejército de la Aérea de la Filipinas) is the aerial warfare service branch of the Armed Forc ...
and the
Philippine Navy
The Philippine Navy (PN) ( tgl, Hukbong Dagat ng Pilipinas, , Sea Army of the Philippines) ( es, Armada de Filipinas, , Ejército del Mar de las Filipinas) is the naval warfare service branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. It has an e ...
bombed and shelled the island for nearly two months in support of Philippine Army search operations to capture the perpetrators, though 300 rebels may have evaded capture by escaping to
Sabah
Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indone ...
,
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
.
Juan Ponce Enrile
Juan Valentin Furagganan Ponce Enrile Sr., (born Juanito Furagganan; February 14, 1924), also referred to by his initials JPE, or Manong Johnny, is a Filipino politician and lawyer known for his role in the administration of Philippine dicta ...
, then Defense Minister, described the perpetrators as simply "armed men", probably
smuggler
Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations.
There are various ...
s or remnants of the
Moro National Liberation Front
The Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF; ar, الجبهة الوطنية لتحرير مورو) is a political organization in the Philippines that was founded in 1972. It started as a splinter group of the Muslim Independence Movement. The M ...
.
3,000
Tausug civilians, including women and children, were killed in months of military shelling in 1982 and was tagged as a massacre.
References
{{Moro conflict
1981 in the Philippines
Massacres in 1981
February 1981 events in Asia
Massacres in the Philippines
Moro conflict
Rebellions in the Philippines
History of Sulu
Presidency of Ferdinand Marcos
Massacres under the Marcos dictatorship