Soldiers hurt in clash awarded with medals
COTABATO CITY — The Army’s 6th Infantry Division had awarded merit medals to the two soldiers wounded in an ambush during an election security mission in Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao del Sur.
The awardees, 2nd Lt. Kent M. Carreon and Cpl. Kevin D. Galanza, both of the Army’s 33rd Infantry Battalion, were on their way to a polling site in a secluded area in Barangay Kuloy in Shariff when they figured in an encounter with gunmen positioned along the route, two days before the May 12 elections.
Major Gen. Donald M. Gumiran, commander of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, told reporters on Monday, that he personally pinned the medal to Mr. Carreon and Mr. Galanza in a simple ceremony at the Camp Siongco Hospital in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte, where their bullet wounds are being treated.
“They deserve the citations. They were both wounded in action, in line of duty,” Mr. Gumiran said.
The 33rd Infantry Batatalion, a unit of the 601st Infantry Brigade under 6th ID, covers Shariff Aguak and nearby towns that have “election hotspots,” home to Moro clans locked in deep-seated political rivalries. — John Felix M. Unson
