Malacanang has issued Proclamation No. 164 declaring ‘January 25’ of every year as ‘Day of National Remembrance for the Heroic Sacrifice’ of the fallen 44 members of the Special Action Force of the Philippine National Police.
President Rodrigo Duterte has signed Proclamation No. 164 on February 21, 2017, in honor of the 44 SAF personnel who were killed during an encounter with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in Tukanalipao, Mamasapano, Maguindanao.
Proclamation 164 stated that “on January 25, 2015, forty-four uniformed personnel of the Philippine National Police Special Action Force were killed in the line of duty” while serving a warrant of arrest on a Malaysian terrorist and bomb-maker Zulkifli Abdhir and other Malaysian terrorists or high-ranking members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) in Mamasapano, Maguindanao.
“Their heroism serves as a constant reminder of the continuing sacrifices being made by our valiant uniformed men and women in the line of duty,” it said.
Aside from the SAF 44, 18 fighters of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and 5 BIFF were killed in the encounter that negated the peace talks.
