Pata Island massacre
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Pata Island massacre | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Moro conflict | |||||
.svg)  Pata Island Pata Island (Philippines) | |||||
| |||||
| Belligerents | |||||
 Philippine Army |
 Moro National Liberation Front[1] | ||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||
|
Lt. Col Jacinto Sardual[2] |
Commander Unad Masillam[2] also called Meas Unad[3] | ||||
| Units involved | |||||
|
Headquarters Service Company 31st Infantry Battalion 1st Infantry Division | Unknown | ||||
| Strength | |||||
| approximately 125 soldiers | approximately 400 men[2] | ||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||
| 119[4]-124[5] killed | 16[5]-49[3] killed | ||||
The Pata Island massacre refers to an event that took place on February 12, 1981, on Pata Island, Sulu province in the Philippines. More than 100 Philippine Army officers and men were killed by Moro natives in what was called by retired Major General Delfin Castro as "the biggest number of casualties incurred by the Armed Forces of the Philippines in a single incident since the start of the conflict in Mindanao and had the dubious distinction of achieving the biggest losses in AFP firearms and equipment in a single incident."[2] An estimated 3,000 Tausug civilians, including women and children, were killed in months of shelling by military forces in 1982 and was tagged as the Pata Island massacre.[6]
The 1st Infantry Division of the Philippine Army conducted an operation on Pata Island on February 9, 1981, after receiving reports of landings being made there by Moro National Liberation Front elements. The 31st Infantry Battalion was at the forefront of this operation, assisted by two other battalions. After being assured by local barangay leaders that no MNLF forces had landed, the 31st Infantry Battalion began to withdraw its troops from the island on February 12, 1981, leaving its Headquarters Service Company along with battalion commander Lieutenant Colonel Jacinto Sardual.