HEROES, I mean those who are publicly recognized, are men who liberate the nation. National heroes have their feats granted an imprimatur by the state.
Yet, no hero, not even the only national hero, Jose Rizal, could claim to be the sole author of freedom from Spain. Neither Cory Aquino nor Cardinal Sin could be attributed as the only pillars of Edsa I.
If at all, the recognized heroes earn their stature for being the rallying personalities during upheavals. This is not to downplay the sacrifices these heroes endured.
But any change, to effect at all, needs the heroic acts of the people themselves. Imagine Cory and Cardinal Sin without the people gathering at Edsa.
Sporadic acts of heroism, though unrecognized, more often, spell the difference between success and failure of any upheaval.
Unfortunately, history has been written in the prism of the macro, of the big names in our history. The Juan de la Cruces, they who after all, decide the outcome of the struggle deserve the accolade or if not, even a footnote in the pages of history. Without these footnotes, history as written portrays only the flip-side of reality.
Atty. Abeto A. Salcedo Jr., a native Cagayanon, deserves a footnote.
Remember the Col. Alexander Noble siege of the 4th Infantry Division Headquarters in Camp Evangelista on October 4, 1990?
Col. Noble overran the 4th Infantry Division Headquarters. He did so without a whit of resistance from the then Camp Commander Brigadier General Miguel Sol.
While we had a general who reneged from his sworn duty, an ordinary citizen took the courage. Atty. Salcedo, at about 11 o’clock in the morning of October 5, 1990 drove his 125 Yamaha motorcycle and went inside the 4th ID Camp. He went straight to the building known as the Commander’s White House.
There, he met Col. Noble. After pleasantries, Col. Noble elaborated on why he was in the camp. Accordingly, the rebel soldiers were there just to talk to Gen. Sol but were surprised when the latter just abandoned the camp.
During the conversation, a certain Col. Erfie interrupted and reported that there was no food for lunch that day, the firing pins of the canons and arms were removed, the ammunitions were hidden, and the mutineers were already fatigue from lack of sleep and food.
Atty. Salcedo, who was once connected with the Judge Advocate General Office (Jago) of the military, knew the value of the information he just unwittingly heard in the unguarded moments of the rebel leaders.
Fearful for his life but without losing composure and calm, he immediately excused himself from the two rebel leaders. Thereafter, he relayed the information to Senator Nene Pimentel.
Unexpectedly, Atty. Salcedo was asked to brief the marines at Lumbia airport of the situation of the rebels in Camp Evangelista.
Col. Noble’s group was given an ultimatum. Otherwise, the battalion of marines would assault them by 4:30 dawn of October 6, 1990.
The military intelligence gathered by Atty. Salcedo was of paramount importance.
The formidable weapon for bluff of the rebels would be: that they had the possession and control of the 4th ID Camp, one and the biggest military camp in Northern Mindanao; that with all the canons and arsenals available therein, they can last in battle till kingdom come; and that in the course of the battle disastrous collateral damage would necessarily result.
With the information gathered by Atty. Salcedo, the rebels could not play poker against the government. Their weakness was unmasked. They had no ace under their sleeves.
At 2:30 dawn of October 6, 1990, before the ultimatum deadline, Col. Noble and his followers surrendered peacefully. No gun was fired. No blood was shed.
Almost two decades had passed before Atty. Abeto shared his experience in his blogsite http://realtruestories.blogspot.com. Stories like these, although long overdue, deserve notice and recognition.
Stories like these have the effect of uplifting the spirits and of sowing hope in the hearts of even the Juan de la Cruces, that yes, we can be heroes in the grand parade of history.
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