Picture this a fresh nursing graduate, young and a girl at that was found among those who died in an encounter, suspected of possible involvement in the armed rebel movement.
The family of Rachelle Mae Palang, who passed the Nursing licensure exams last June 2008, was still in shock over the military’s claim that she was among communist rebels who clashed with army soldiers in Dauin town, Negros Oriental province last week.
She was 22.
I don’t know if you consider this breaking news since insurgencies and rebellion is currently going on in Mindanao and other parts of the Philippines. But this story is close to home since she was from Cebu and my mom’s friend knew her. I still don’t really know what to believe, her family claimed that she was there for a 3-month medical mission but no medical mission takes that long, 2 days at most and what was she doing with firearms?
Central Command’s Lt. Gen. Pedro Ike Inserto claims “It was a legitimate encounter. I can say that 100 times in front of everybody in Cebu and even up to the high heavens,” Inserto told reporters yesterday.
You can read more on her story here & here.
by little light , on September 26 2008 @ 1:17 am
sayang siya. i can’t say that she wasted her future, though. if it is true that she died that way, then she died with a cause. she died standing for what she believe in, and that is not a waste.