President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., along with Interior and Local Government Secretary Benhur Abalos and other officials, on Thursday honored the 44 Special Action Force (SAF) commandos who perished in a botched police operation at Tukanalipao in Mamasapano, Maguindanao province nine years ago.

In his message during the SAF 44 National Day of Remembrance ceremony at Camp General Mariano Castañeda in Silang, Cavite, President Marcos paid homage to the bravery of the fallen SAF troopers even as he urged Filipinos to draw inspiration from their heroism.

“The defiant stand of the Brave 44 still echoes today. It is a clarion call for unity and action against any challenge we might face,” the President said.

“Let our reverence for these men be always accompanied by a deeper reflection so we too can summon the fight in ourselves to build a better future for our nation.”

“Huwag nating pababayaan ang kapayapaan na kanilang ipinaglaban,” he stressed.

The President and the DILG chief were joined by Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Gen. Benjamin Acorda, Jr. and Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, along with the family and loved ones of the fallen 44.

Abalos said the current administration would ensure that there would be no repeat of such an incident as the government zeroes in on improving the capabilities of the PNP.

“As we remember today the tragedy that befell the brave SAF44, we also learn and reflect on the missteps of this unfortunate incident. We owe it to these heroes and their families to prevent another Mamasapano tragedy from happening again,” he said.

“As such, trust that we would continuously push for initiatives to modernize and improve the capabilities of our police force to make them more efficient and responsive,” he added.

The SAF 44 died in the line of duty during a police operation called “Oplan Exodus” on 25 January 2015 that sought to arrest international terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir, alias "Marwan," and a Filipino terrorist, Abdul Basit Usman.

The operation, however, resulted in a firefight with Moro rebels and armed residents in the area.

The encounter lasted for hours and claimed the lives of around 67 people, including 44 members of SAF and Marwan.

Usman, on the other hand, was later killed in another operation.