Patikul massacre
{{Short description|1977 killing of soldiers in the Philippines}}
{{Use Philippine English|date=August 2020}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict = Patikul massacre
| partof = the Moro conflict
| image = Patikul stone marker in memory of AFP Brig. Gen. Teodulfo Bautista.jpg
| caption = Memorial to AFP Brig. Gen. Teodulfo Bautista and his 35 men who were killed in Danag, Patikul, Sulu
| date = October 10, 1977
| place = Patikul, Sulu, Philippines
| coordinates = {{Coord|6.0630|121.1023|display=title}}
| result = MNLF victory
| status =
| combatants_header = Belligerents
| combatant1 = {{flagdeco|PHI|1936}} Philippine Army
| combatant2 = {{flagicon image|MNLF flag.svg}} Moro National Liberation Front
| commander1 = {{flagdeco|PHI|1936}} Teodulfo Bautista{{KIA}}
| commander2 = {{flagicon image|MNLF flag.svg}} Usman Sali{{cite news | last =Ylagan | first =Amelia H.C. | title =Forgiveness and forgetfulness in the Mindanao conflict | publisher = BusinessWorld | date = February 8, 2015 | url =http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=Opinion&title=forgiveness-and-forgetfulness-in-the-mindanao-conflict&id=102363 | access-date = May 20, 2016}}
| units1 = 1st Infantry Division
| units2 = unknown
| strength1 = 36 officers and men
| strength2 = 150 men{{cite news | author = Inquirer Research | title = Most violent encounters between gov't forces and rebels | publisher = Philippine Daily Inquirer | date = January 27, 2015 | url = http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/668190/most-violent-encounters-between-govt-forces-and-rebels | access-date = May 10, 2016}}
| casualties1 = 35 killed
| casualties2 = none
| campaignbox = {{Campaignbox Moro conflict}}
}}
The Patikul massacre refers to an event that took place on October 10, 1977 in Patikul, Sulu province in the Philippines. Thirty-five officers and men of the Philippine Army were killed by elements of the Moro National Liberation Front under Usman Sali. Among the dead were Brigadier General Teodulfo Bautista, commanding general of the 1st Infantry Division, Adjutant General of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Col. Gabriel Pangilinan and four lieutenant colonels.{{cite news | last = Cal | first = Ben | title = Oct. 10, 1977 Patikul massacre recalled | work = Philippine News Agency | date = October 9, 2012 | url = http://balita.ph/2012/10/09/oct-10-1977-patikul-massacre-recalled-feature/ | access-date = May 12, 2016}}
The massacre
Usman Sali, the leader of a group of MNLF rebels, had earlier agreed to meet with Gen. Bautista at the headquarters of the 1st Infantry "Tabak" Division in Jolo for a peace dialogue. At the last minute, Sali changed his mind and proposed to meet Gen. Bautista at a public market in Barangay Danag, Patikul. Bautista agreed and on the way to Patikul, was accompanied by Col. Gabriel Pangilinan, his classmate at the Philippine Military Academy. Earlier, Bautista had invited Fidel V. Ramos, then Chief of the Philippine Constabulary to join him but the latter demurred due to a previous engagement in Zamboanga City.
When the General and his troops arrived at the market aboard two army trucks, the place was deserted. Sali was not there to meet Bautista, so the General and his men sat down at a table to await his arrival. At that point gunfire broke out and Bautista and his men were mowed down. The bodies were later found to have sustained hack wounds.{{cite news | last = Tulfo | first = Ramon | title = Military caught unprepared in Sulu | publisher = Philippine Daily Inquirer | date = February 12, 2005 | url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2479&dat=20050212&id=P1c1AAAAIBAJ&pg=1637,19156249&hl=en | access-date = May 12, 2016}} All of the Army soldiers died, except for a sergeant, the group's radioman, who survived by playing dead.
Although some reports indicate that Usman Sali died during subsequent government operations,{{cite news | last = Mathews | first = Jay | title = Killing Goes On Year After Cease-Fire in Philippine Civil War | newspaper = The Washington Post | date = December 12, 1977 | url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1977/12/12/killing-goes-on-year-after-cease-fire-in-philippine-civil-war/d26a6fec-aa18-4e02-9f87-4bd5f9511c5a/ | access-date = May 14, 2016}} others state that he escaped to Sabah, Malaysia after the incident.{{cite news | last = Malinao | first = Alito L. | title = Get new peace talk brokers | publisher = The Manila Times | date = August 26, 2008 | url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2518&dat=20080826&id=vU1aAAAAIBAJ&pg=1632,18406995&hl=en | access-date = May 14, 2016}}
Memorials
Then-president Ferdinand Marcos, in his eulogy to the fallen, stated that Gen. Bautista and his men were "killed with perfidy and treachery", and that the massacre "conclusively brands the MNLF as the violator of the ceasefire agreement".{{cite web | author = Ferdinand E. Marcos | author-link = Ferdinand E. Marcos | title = Eulogy for Brig. Gen Teodulfo Bautista and other victims of the Patikul Massacre, October 15, 1977 | publisher = Government of the Philippines | date = October 15, 1977 | url = https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1977/10/15/eulogy-for-brig-gen-teodulfo-bautista-and-other-victims-of-the-patikul-massacre-october-15-1977/ | access-date = May 12, 2016}}
In 2012, Bautista's son, then-Commanding General of the Philippine Army Emmanuel T. Bautista inaugurated a museum in Camp General Teodulfo Bautista in Barangay Busbus, Jolo. The Army camp is named in honor of his late father.{{cite web | title = Military honors a soldier of peace | publisher = Philippine Army | url = http://www.army.mil.ph/pr/oct/101012.html | access-date = May 12, 2016 | archive-date = December 27, 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191227093750/http://www.army.mil.ph/pr/oct/101012.html | url-status = dead }}
A stone memorial to those killed was restored in 2009 by the Philippine Marine Corps, Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines, and residents of Barangay Danag.{{cite web | last =Donnelly | first =Theresa | title = AFP and JSOTF-P Unveil Shrine and Conduct MEDCAP | publisher = United States Army | url = https://www.army.mil/article/31399/ | date=December 5, 2009 | access-date = May 12, 2016}}