121. CAMPS & LT. ROSAURO DANAO TODA, JR.
CAMPS & LT. ROSAURO DANAO TODA, JR.
01 October 2020
A monumental edifice was recently inaugurated in the Province of Isabela located within the Isabela Police Provincial Office at Baligatan in the capital-city of Ilagan. The monument, situated after the left side of the main road of the camp adjacent the Saint Ferdinand Catholic Chapel, was unveiled by no less than the Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief PGen Camilo Pancratius Cascolan together with Governor Rodolfo T. Albano III and Vice Governor Faustino F. Dy III and other civilian and uniformed dignitaries.
Everytime I read, hear and encounter the word “camp”, it reminds me of my dad, the late Mayor Narciso Ybanez Miano (1943-2002) of Calbayog City. He was incarcerated in a camp at the capital-town of Catbalogan, Samar after the declaration of Martial Law or Proclamation No. 1081. Together with his brother, Felimon Jr. and cousin Ricardo, a grandson of Senate President Jose D. Avelino, the trio were vocal anti-Marcos media men; however, it was only my dad who was unfortunately present when the uniformed men arrived. He was later released from “istaked” and went to Manila where he met my mom who was also a local activist in Isabela.
Another camp which stuck in my memory is Camp Panopio along Epifanio Delos Santos Avenue (Edsa) corner P. Tuazon Street in Quezon City. My mom was confined a couple of times in this small camp during the latter part martial rule due to minor illness. Her maternal first cousin, Major Santos “Totoy” B. Tomacruz, M.D. was the chief of this medical camp.
A good memory of camps was during the People Power Revolution of 1986. I stood prominently in front of the gates and walls of the two main camps located at the metropolis’ main thoroughfare. Camp Emilio Aguinaldo is the site of the General Headquarters (GHQ) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) while Camp Crame is the National Headquarters (NHQ) of the PNP. It was in Camp Aguinaldo where my Kindergarten graduation ceremony in 1980 was held. I remember having a photo in front of a life size photo of President Ferdinand E. Marcos.
In Isabela province, Camps Aguinaldo and Crame has its counterparts. For the AFP, it is Camp Melchor F. Dela Cruz while for the PNP it is Camp Lt. Rosauro Danao Toda, Jr. Camp Melchor F. Dela Cruz situated in Upi, Gamu town is the home of the 5th Infantry Division, Philippine Army (PA). Known officially as the Star Division, this is the PA’s primary infantry unit in Northern Luzon and specializes in anti-guerilla warfare. It was named after local hero Colonel Melchor F. Dela Cruz who was married to Zenaida Capellan-Dela Cruz, a native of Naguilian, Isabela.
Aside from the ribbon-cutting ceremonies on the memorial at the PNP Isabela Head Office, this was also the formal renaming of the camp from “Isabela Police Provincial Office” to “Camp Lt. Rosauro Danao Toda, Jr.” pursuant to the proclamation of President Rodrigo R. Duterte. The ceremony was witnessed by Lt. Toda’s wife, Ma. Concepcion C. Toda. The marker reads:
LT. ROSAURO DANAO TODA JR.
JUNE 05, 1963 -
AUGUST 04, 1988
"A CHAMPION OF COURAGE, BRAVERY, SELFLESS GALLANTRY AND EPITOME OF TRUE BLOODED ISABELINO"
ON MARCH 06, 1987, LT. TODA SURVIVED A BLOODY ENCOUNTER WITH THE NEW PEOPLE’S ARMY AT BRGY. RAGAN, ALMASIN, DELFIN ALBANO, ISABELA WHERE UNSPECIFIED NUMBER OF REBELS WERE KILLED.
ON AUGUST 04, 1988, LT. TODA LED THE JOINT TROOPS OF 112TH, 133RD AND 118TH TO AUGMENT 116TH PC COY BASED AT JONES, ISABELA. DURING THE CONDUCT OF PATROL AT SITIO DIARAO DICAMAY, JONES, ISABELA THEY WERE AMBUSHED BY NEW PEOPLE'S ARMY ALTHOUGH LT. TODA SUCCUMBED WITH MULTIPLE GUNSHOT WOUNDS, HE WAS ABLE TO SAVE THE LIVES OF A CIVILIAN 6X6 TRUCK DRIVER, A NINE-YEAR OLD BOY GOING TO SCHOOL AND DOZENS OF HIS WOUNDED COMRADES.
IN SALUTE AND RECOGNITION OF A LOST COMRADE WHO CONTRIBUTED IMMENSELY TO THE ORGANIZATION'S PRIDE, HONOR AND WORTHY OF EMULATION OF THE PRESENT AND FUTURE MEMBERS OF THE UNIFORMED SERVICE, THIS CAMP IS NOW BEING NAMED AFTER LT. ROSAURO DANAO TODA JR. AS PER APPROVED PROCLAMATION NO. 1016 DATED SEPTEMBER 10, 2020.
Lt. Rosauro “Jun” Danao Toda, Jr. was born on June 5, 1963 at Barangay Poblacion 2, Santa Maria, Isabela to Rosauro Toda, a policeman and Maximina Danao-Toda, a teacher who both hailed from the old pueblo of Santa Maria. The eldest in a brood of 11, he finished as valedictorian at the San Antonio-Lingaling Elementary School in his hometown Santa Maria and took his secondary schooling at the University of St. Louis in Tuguegarao, Cagayan and was dubbed as the school mathematician because of his proficiency in mathematics.
Lt. Toda took up Electronics and Communication Engineering Course at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila and after two year in 1982, he decided to enter the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) in Baguio City. The incumbent PNP Chief was his classmate in the Academy under the Sinagtala Class of 1986. On March 1986, he was assigned in the Philippine Constabulary with the rank of 2nd Lieutenant and received recognition as 1st Ranger Regiment Commander’s Physical Proficiency Award because of his dedication to the service.
On the fateful day of August 4, 1988, the Provincial Commander of Isabela, Lt. Col. Panfilo Lacson (now Senator) assigned Lt. Toda to lead the troops stationed in Jones, Isabela to patrol the area at Sitio Diarao in Barangay Dicamay 2. The lieutenant, together with his civilian driver and a nine-year old child, were ambushed by members of the New People’s Army (NPA) which led to his death. Lt. Toda is survived by his wife Maria Concepcion who was seven months old pregnant. Lt. Toda’s daughter is now a lawyer and resides in the United States.
Camps are the second home of our protectors - the police personnel and military men. The image of these fortified institutions has significantly metamorphosized through the decades. From a scary place for prisoners and detainees, it developed to become a place where one can enjoy recreation including a short visit to historical monuments similar to the two big camps in Gamu and Ilagan in Isabela.
Lt. Rosauro Danao Toda, Jr. was immortalized after 32 years with the renaming of the province’ main PNP camp and surely he never expected this great honor for his main objective was to serve his country to make sure that every Isabeleño, and the Filipino people in general, would sleep well at night and wake up in the morning still enjoying freedom and democracy.
Mga Komento
Mag-post ng isang Komento