PHILIPPINE National Police Special Action Force director Major General Bernard M. Banac has emphasized the need for all men and women of the 14 SAF Battalions to ‘keep on training and training’ to make them ready for all critical situations in the country.

He said there is a need to provide the SAF with more state-of-the-art equipment as they remain the muscle’ of the police force in battling ‘Enemies of the State’ including the New People’s Army, lawless elements in Mindanao and other organized crime groups.

He noted that in Sulu, he discovered that several SAF troopers have become casualties of the fight against terror and criminality. “Some of our troops have admitted their morale is low because they are under-equipped, kulang sa firepower, kulang sa ammunition and we have to completely address those concerns,” he said.

“We are spread very thinly but what’s the logic of maintaining those battalions at hindi naman tayo territorial force,” he explained when he ordered the transfer to Camp Bagong Diwa in Bicutan of all officers and men of the SAF’s 11th Special Action Battalion (SAB) stationed in Davao region and the 7th SAB based in Sulu as they have already finished their mandated tasks in those areas after more than three years of being deployed there.

The additional SAF battalions would also further reinforce the Metro Manila security especially when there are major events that need their deployment,

The official said the 11th SAB has already completed its job in Davao peninsula since the region has already been declared as ‘insurgency-free’ in September 2022 by the Regional Peace and Order Council 11 following the series of successful peace and order initiatives by the government which led in the dismantling of the remnants of New People’s Army fronts in the area.

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. formally declared Davao region composed of Davao City, Davao de Oro, Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, Davao Occidental and Davao Oriental as an ‘insurgency-free’ region on October 27, 2022.

Davao region became the 3rd region in the country to be declared as ‘insurgency-free’ next after Region 1 or Ilocos-Pangasinan region and Region 9 or Western Mindanao.

On the other hand, Sulu has been declared by the provincial government and the police and the military as free from the influence of the once deadly Abu Sayyaf Group on September 11, 2023.

The official said that last December, he also recommended the deactivation of the 14th SAB based in Northern Luzon. He said that after finishing their retraining, members of the 11th SAB will be deployed to the North.

On the other hand, commandos belonging to the 14th SAF will be distributed to other SAF battalions.

“We are downsizing to make SAF a lean but mean unit, yung kayang mag-supply ng ammos, firepower sa lahat. Right now, I am preparing now for a new structure of SAF composed of nine battalions only meaning made-deactivate ang 14th, 12th, 11th and 10th SABs,” he said.

There is no 13th SAB due to the superstition that 13 is an unlucky number.

Currently, there are 453 police commissioned officers and 6,000 police non-commissioned officers belonging to the SAF. The rest are Non-Uniformed Personnel performing administrative works.

Right after he was installed as SAF director, Maj. Gen. Banac said he has chosen Fort Sto. Domingo located in Sta. Rosa City in Laguna as the new main SAF headquarters.

Fort Sto. Domingo in the early 90s became a SAF commando training facility. During those days, place is grassy area, surrounded mostly by sugarcane plantations. It however is the site of Cuartel de Santo Domingo which has been declared as a national historical site.

Cuartel de Santo Domingo, also known as Fort Sto. Domingo and the Intramuros of Sta. Rosa is an old two-storey Spanish barracks building in Sta. Rosa City in Laguna .

The present main SAF headquarters already houses a logistics warehouse, a billeting quarters for students and eventually several administration buildings as part of its infrastructure development plan.

Maj. Gen. Banac said before, they were dreaming that the SAF headquarters would be in Baras, Rizal but the plan did not materialize. “When I took over as SAF director, it was all prepared for me,

It was just a matter of making the decision and upon assumption, I immediately announce to my men we will transfer to Sto. Domingo,” he said.

The 53-year old Banac is no stranger to the PNP-SAF. After graduating from Fort del Pilar in 1992, he and seven other members of PMA Class 1992 reported to the former SAF headquarters in Fort Bonifacio in April 1992.

Banac’s mistahs-turned SAF colleagues were then Inspector Ronald Lorenzo, Ulysses Cruz, Mario Reyes, George Francia, Steve Ludan, Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. and Ismael Yu.

Lorenzo and Francia died of illness while already police captains. Cruz, Ludan and Yu are retired Police Brigadier Generals while Reyes is now a Major General and head of the PNP Directorate for Logistics.

Nartatez of course is the Maj. Gen. Nartatez of the National Capital Region Police Office.

As a member of the SAF’s 4th Battalion then, Banac was initially assigned in Manila to help the local police conduct anti-kidnapping and anti-bank robbery patrols in 1992. After six months of patrolling Manila on board SAF hummer vehicles, Banac was deployed to Basilan where he became the commanding officer of the 4th SAB’s Reconnaisance Company.

After a year-long stint in Basilan, he and his men were sent to Kabankalan City in Negros Occidental where they helped fight the New People’s Army insurgency.

In 1996, Banac was pulled out from the PNP-SAF and was assigned as an aide to then Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Robert Z. Barbers. He said that it was in the DILG where he met his future wife Eloisa.

SAF COMMANDO’S EXIT PROGRAM NEEDED

Maj. Gen. Banac said he is studying an ‘exit program’ for his commandos. “Walang program for exit dito. They keep SAF as SAF. Once recruited, fresh na fresh ka pero we must give the seniors the opportunity to move up. So lahat ng nag-serve ng 20, 15, 10 years dito, payagan na nating lumabas kesa kanino lumalapit for reassignment,” he said.

It was the reason why upon a recommendation from Banac, PNP chief, Gen. Benjamin C. Acorda Jr. last month approved the transfer to other units of 170 SAF commandos who have been away from their family for long years while battling terrorists and insurgents in the countryside.

“Me exit call yung 170 as we prepare them to what to expect in their new assignments. Ang bilin ko lang sa kanila, mataas ang pagtingin sa SAF kaya you have to maintain your discipline,” Banac said.

The top cop approved the transfer of assignment of the 170 commandos as he and President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. recognized the hard work and bravery of the frontline troops during the National Day of Remembrance for the SAF 44 who were killed on January 25, 2015 while in a secret mission to neutralize then Southeast Asia’s most wanted terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan.

“The transfer of the these battle-hardened police commandos will give them the opportunity be reassigned to other PNP Units stationed closer to their families which is aspect of the moral and welfare policy under the PNP’s 5 focus agenda,” Gen. Acorda said.

Maj. Gen. Banac explained that the 170 SAF troopers recommended for transfer have already completed the required year of tour of duty with SAF.

“Some of them have, in fact, extended their duty with SAF for more than a decade out of personal commitment and passion to serve,’’ he said even as he assured that the transfer of these 170 SAF troopers will not hamper the ongoing operations and programs of SAF, which is currently composed of 15 maneuver battalions with rapid deployment capability to respond to any possible crisis.

The official said the transfer must be done as part of their adherence to Gen. Acorda’s effort to further improve the morale and welfare of the police force.

“Imagine, our commandos assigned in the provinces only have two weeks to be with their families. Dapat silang bumalik sa assignments nila sa mga probinsiya after that, dagdag-gastos sa kanila ito,” he said.