BAGUIO CITY(PIA) – A Cordilleran war hero was posthumously awarded with the Medal for Valor for his acts of heroism during the Marawi Siege in 2017.
President Rodrigo Duterte recently awarded the highest military honor to Igorot soldier Private First Class Gener C. Tinangag who hailed from Barangay Lunas in the municipality of Barlig in Mountain Province.
“The Medal for Valor is hereby awarded to late PFC Gener Tinangag for acts of conspicuous courage, gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty…” General Orders Number 813 given by the Armed Forces of the Philippines read.
“Through his outstanding bravery and unflinching determination in the face of great adversity during the five-hour intense and deadly battle against the ISIS-inspired Local Terrorsit Group – Maute, PFC Tinangag selflessly and single handedly saved the lives of four marines and extricated one killed in action in exchange for his own life,” it added.
According to the Philippine Marine Corps, PFC Tinangag, was then a newly reported Assistant Automatic Rifleman with the Marine Battalion Landing Team-5, together with three other marines, volunteered to extricate wounded and killed troops under heavy fire from the enemy snipers, machine guns and rocket propelled grenades in the vicinity of Mapandi Bridge in Barangay Lilod Madaya in Maarawi City on June 2017.
Disregarding his safety and acting without orders, he stealthily maneuvered and crawled through the rubble to get close to the casualties while fearlessly exposing himself to the enemies’ line of fire.
After numerous evacuation trips, he and his team were able to rescue four wounded marines who were holed up in a mosque. Tinangag went back to the kill zone where he single-handedly recovered the body of 1LT John Frederick S. Savellano of the marines who was killed in action.
PFC Tinangag took an enemy sniper shot in his stomach and was peppered with shrapnel from an enemy grenade. Despite his wounds, he mustered all his strength and carried his comrade marine before expiring.
“His selfless sacrifice raised the morale of troops to valiantly advance in a ferocious battle and subsequently liberated Marawi City from the terrorists. By a singular display of heroism, Private First Class Gener C Tinangag distinguished himself in combat, keeping with the traditions of Filipino soldiery,” said the General Orders noted by AFP Chief of Staff General Cirilito Sobejana.
He is among the eight Cordilleran army and police personnel who sacrificed their lives during the five-month battle to liberate Marawi City from the hands of the Maute-ISIS terrorist group.
The Medal of Valor is the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ highest military honor awarded for a conspicuous deed of personal bravery or self-sacrifice above and beyond the call of duty that distinguishes the recipient from his comrades. **RMC PIA-CAR
