'Suicide squad' of Marawi honored in US for outstanding rescue work

The 30-person volunteer rescue team dubbed as the "Suicide Squad" by the media and which has awed netizens was recognized in the US for their outstanding work in rescuing residents of Marawi City during the height of the Maute siege last year.

Gawad Amerika Awards named the rescue team the Most Outstanding Non-Governmental Team in Public Service for 2018, a year after they braved gunfire using their knowledge of the area to retrieve families hiding in their homes.

Lanao del Sur Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management officer and team leader Saripada Pacasum Jr. said receiving the award was "very flattering" to the volunteers who served as a vital lifeline in Marawi.

"It's very flattering na most of the members, puro first time din makaapak sa US, and to be recognized by a group like this, ang laki-laking karangalan sa 'min," Pacasum said in an interview on News To Go on Tuesday.

"We hope we inspire more people doing good," he added.

The team was formed by volunteers from Marawi City or those with relatives and friends in the city to make up for the limited rescue operations the military could conduct in the midst of the siege.

Pacasum recounted the team's experience from the beginning to the end of the Marawi ordeal, including their training to operate the vehicle loaned to them by RVG Alrashied Haron Lukman at Mapandi Bridge and their first rescue operation.

"We got a call from the NDRRM na meron dun stranded na 42 teachers of Wao, there were non-Muslims, and knowing na target yung non-Muslims, yun yung wait, kailangan ma-rescue," Pacasum recalled.

He later added, "Being a local, you know the area, yun yung malaking advantage namin... kasi during rescue operations, napaka-kritikal yung, 'pag matagal sa area, yung chances na ma-disgrasya kayo, ang laki. You have to leave kagad. Yun yung edge namin."

In the future, Pacasum believes the education of Muslim youths must be strengthened to steer them away from radicalism and stem the influence of extremist groups such as the Maute group.

"Knowing na most of the members of the Maute-ISIS Group are young individuals, we have to boost yung education sector. We have to educate the youth, show them that there's more to life than joining groups," he said.

"This is not Islam, what they (Maute group) did. It's completely contradictory to our faith." —Rie Takumi/KBK, GMA News