University of the Cordilleras students plant trees in honor of SAF 44

A group of students from the Cordilleras on Sunday honored the 44 Special Action Force troopers slain in Mamasapano, Maguindanao last Jan. 25 with a tree-planting ceremony.

 

The students and teachers from the University of the Cordilleras took part in the planting activity in Tuba town in Benguet, GMA News stringer Peewee Bacuño reported.

 

Photos posted by Bacuño showed the criminology students holding portraits of some of the slain SAF members before the planting.


 

They then planted trees next to posts with the portraits of the slain SAF personnel.

 

With them in the planting were relatives of some slain SAF men including members of the Dulnuan, Cayang-o, Kayob, Bilog, Kiangan, and Golocan families.

 

Each tree will bear the name of the slain SAF personnel, particularly those from the Cordillera region.

 

Organizers of the tree-planting said they hope this will ease the pain of those who lost their loved ones in the Mamasapano incident.

 

For their part, the families promised to take care of the planted trees.

 

The participants also took part in a ritual seeking to heal the wounds left by the incident. — Joel Locsin/JDS, GMA News