Soldier killed in friendly fire wished to be remembered for goodness

LANAO DEL SUR, Philippines — One of the 11 soldiers accidentally killed in an airstrike Wednesday in Marawi City knew Maranaw culture and was so obsessed with doing the tribe something good he will be remembered by.  

The 28-year-old Private 1st Class Kevin Sisiban of the 44th Infantry Battalion was born in Malabang town in Lanao del Sur, a component province of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Sisiban’s father died when he was three years old. He was adopted by his paternal grandfather, Primitivo, now 92, who provided for all his needs until he got enlisted into the Philippine Army.

According to his relatives, Sisiban already showed fondness and cordiality toward his Muslim playmates while a child.

His clan elders said he grew up so attached to Maranaws that he felt slighted every time he heard someone talk bad about them.

They recall him saying he would do the Maranaws, the natives in Lanao del Sur and Marawi City, something good they will remember him by.

Sisiban is survived by wife, Karin, 32, who is from Linamon town in Lanao Del Norte, and their two children, three-year-old Kevin Roy and Owen Kirk, who was born only last month.

“He was a good husband a good father to his children,” Karin told The STAR, words punctuated by sobs.

Karin is a volunteer teacher in a small barangay day care learning facility for pre-schoolers.

She said they cannot blame the Philippine Air Force for the botched airstrike that resulted in the death of her husband and 10 others.

“He joined the Army to serve people regardless of religions and tribes. He was aware he could be killed performing such duty so what is there to be angry about? It was something innate to his military work,” Karin said.

Even Sisiban’s ailing grandfather, who fainted when he learned of the death of a favorite grandchild, willingly accepted his fate.

“Wala na ta’y mahimo kay pagbuot na sa ginoo (There is nothing we can do for that was God’s will),” Primitivo said.

He said he is even fascinated with the thought of how Sisiban got his wish to be of service to the Maranaw people one day soon.

“Laliman kag makig gyera sa mga terrorista para lang ma-salbar ang mga Maranaw sa makalilisang nga kahimtang? Dili na lalim (Imagine fighting terrorists to save the Maranaws from their impunity? That was extra-ordinary),” Primitivo said.

Relatives said it was the poverty Sisiban experienced during childhood that sealed his attachment to Maranaw children around him.

Sisiban’s grandfather could hardly make both ends met as he raised him through elementary and college.

Relatives said Sisiban’s plight was known to his Maranaw classmates whose parents were financially better off.

“Ang iyang mga amigong mga anak ug adunahan nga Maranaw ang tig-hatag niya’g pagkaun ug mga sinsilyo para ipalit ug biscuit (His generous Maranaw playmates with well off parents provided him food and coins to buy biscuits),” said Ekram Sarip, a long-time friend.

Sisiban last called on his relatives last week via mobile phone to inform them about the deployment of their battalion, a component unit of the Army’s 1st Division based in Pulakan, Zamboanga del Sur, in Marawi City to drive away Maute and Abu Sayyaf terrorists who laid siege in more than a dozen areas there.

They remember him telling them their Marawi mission could be the chance for him to reciprocate the goodness of Maranaws to him during the difficult days of his childhood.

Sisiban and his companions were to surround a spot in Wawalayan area in Barangay Marinaut in Marawi City when a fixed-wing PAF aircraft accidentally dropped a bomb on their position, killing him and 10 others on the spot.

The powerful blast also killed Sisiban’s companions, Pvt. Jessrael Butalina, Pfc. Ahanie Ampalo and Cpls. Aliyasir Abdullah, Ricky Asan, Nilo Donato and Christopher Dela Cruz.

Four members of the 15th Infantry Battalion, Sgt. Throlen Lago, Sgt. Joseph Villanueva, Cpl. Philip Apao and Pfc. Anthony Capulot, also perished in the incident.