Nine years after their death, the heroism of the Special Action Force 44 (SAF44) was commemorated through a wreath-laying ceremony initiated by the Ilocos Norte Police Provincial Office.

Members of the SAF44 lost their lives during the anti-terrorism operation Oplan Exodus in Masapano, Maguindanao, on January 25, 2015.

Brigadier General Ferdinand Melchor Dela Cruz, the AFP Brigade Commander of the 501st Infantry (Valiant) Brigade, 5th Infantry Division of the Philippine Army, attended the event.

“I have seen how courageous they were in their joint operations and I can say that their supreme sacrifice will never be forgotten and should always be remembered... That is the price of our service. We have to sacrifice [our life] so others will live peacefully, at ‘yun ang nangyari — we had to sacrifice 44 lives of our police heroes para manatili ang demokrasya and of course the government that we have now — na nasundan ng Marawi na malaki rin ang naging kontribusyon ng kapulisan," BGen. Dela Cruz said.

The operation was aimed at capturing or neutralizing two high-profile terrorists, Zulkifli Abdhir (also known as Marwan) and Abdul Basit Usman.

The 44 members of PNP-SAF were killed after Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan was neutralized.

The operation was done without coordination with the Moro rebels despite the government's existing peace agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), according to a report of Amanda Fernandez from GMA News.