3 peacekeepers talked to wives amid fighting

MANILA, Philippines - Three Army wives kept their faith that their husbands were safe though they were hearing  sporadic gunfire in the background while talking with them on their cell phones.  

Mila Escarcha, Mila Corpuz and one known only as Mrs. Ramones were continuously talking on the phone with their husbands S/Sgt. Noli Escarcha, Cpl. Michael Corpuz and Capt. Noli Ramones while their contingent of Filipino peacekeepers were fighting a rearguard action against a superior force of al Qaeda-linked Syrian rebels in the Golan Heights.

Mrs. Escarcha said that even in the midst of danger, her husband was thinking of her and their three children’s welfare.

“He doesn’t want me and our children to worry,” she said in Filipino. “I will embrace him deeply when he gets home to show him how much I love him.”

Mrs. Corpuz said she was able to contact her husband before the fighting started and he assured her and their children that they were safe.

“I got so scared for him, but he kept on assuring me and our children that they’re safe,” she said. “So I also held on to his words, but still I can’t stop crying while praying for his and his colleagues’ safety.”

She is planning a welcome gift for her husband when he returns home next month after completing his tour of duty, she added.

Mrs. Corpuz said she will asked him for them to have another baby. “I would like a baby boy,” she said.

They have three children, the eldest being 14, and the youngest nine, all girls with a boy in between.

Mrs. Ramones said her husband kept on assuring her that he and the entire Filipino contingent are all safe.

“I told him that I am reading in the newspapers and hearing on the radio what is happening out there,” she said in Filipino. “He answered that those were not true as they were all safe.”

Mrs. Ramones said that was their last phone conversation before all  communication was cut off.

When she could no longer contact her husband, she   barraged him with inspirational text messages  beseeching God to keep them all safe, she added.

Col. Roberto Ancan, Armed Forces Peacekeeping Operations commander, accompanied the Army wives when they faced reporters in Camp Aguinaldo yesterday noon.