President Rodrigo R. Duterte on Thursday, May 24, honored at least seven wounded-in-action soldiers in Davao City as he awarded them the medals of the Order of Lapu-Lapu with the Rank of Kampilan in recognition of their “exemplary service.”
“[Mr.] Duterte visited seven wounded-in-action soldiers at the Metro Davao Medical Research Center (MDMRC) on Thursday to boost and uplift their morale. During the hospital visit, President Duterte personally awarded the medals of the Order of Lapu-Lapu with the Rank of Kampilan to the soldiers in honor of their courage, bravery, and sacrifice in the service of the country,” the Presidential News Desk (PND) said in a press statement.
The Order of Lapu-Lapu, Rank of Kampilan, according to the PND, “is conferred by the President to recognize exemplary service by workers of the government and private individuals who are wounded, injured, or suffered great loss of property for their participation in the advocacy of the President.”
The wounded soldiers were “Pfc. Nicasio Badana III, Pvt. Michael Liban, Pfc. Jackson Macaraig, Cpl. Kith Domingo, Pvt. Roy Inovejas, Pfc. Roger Belas, and Pfc. Daniel Fabular.”
Soldiers Inovejas, Belas, and Fabular “were injured by improvised explosive device in Mabini, Compostella Valley last May 21,” the PND said.
Meanwhile, Mssrs. Badana, Liban, and Macaraig “sustained injuries in an encounter in Surigao del Sur on May 18 while Domingo was hurt in a separate encounter on May 19.” — Arjay L. Balinbin