Wounded Marawi Soldiers Turned Noble Bakers

From fighting to baking–soldiers that got wounded from fighting terrorists in Marawi now turned to baking in order to support themselves and their families. Together with the Aboitiz Equity Ventures, the Special Operations Command (SoCom) of the Philippine Army has established a bakery business called Noble Bakers.

Pilmico Foods Corporation, the food subsidiary of Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc., provided a comprehensive bakery management training program to 60 wounded soldiers.

One of the soldiers included in the program is Sgt. Ubalde. After sustaining an injury from fighting in Marawi, he had to temporarily stop his peacekeeping duties.

Ubalde has once described the difficulties that the soldiers faced during the battle of Marawi in an interview with The Manila Bulletin.

“Nakarami na din akong gyera sa bundok, pero mas mahirap makipag gyera sa urban, kasi ang kalaban defensive, ikaw yung offensive,” he said. (I have fought so many battles in the mountains and it is more difficult to fight a war in the urban area because your enemy is on the defensive and we are the ones on the offensive.)

“Hirap talaga kami. Karamihan diyan [sa mga kasama ko] nadale sa tinatanim na explosive, kasi alam nila [ng kalaban] kung saan ang aming point of entry, kabisado nila,” the soldier recalled. (It was difficult for us. Most of my comrades died from hidden explosives. Our enemy knew our point of entry, they know the terrain.)

Sgt. Ubalde also mentioned how he lost some of his comrades.

“Nag plano kami, didikit kami sa kanila [sa kalaban], tatawid kami ng tulay. After namin matawid yung tulay, mag  a-assault kami sa next na building, [kaso] yung isang kasama namin hindi pinalad, isa sa nasawi,” Sgt. Ubalde recalled, stating that it had been only three days after he was deployed to Marawi when the unfortunate incident happened. (We planned on staying close to the enemy, cross the bridge and assault them in the next building. One of my comrades was not fortunate to get out alive. He died only three after our deployment.)

Sgt. Ubalde as well as other Marawi medics like Staff Sgt. Roger Rillera, Staff Sgt. Mac Donald Ibasan, and Captain Geefher G. Flores have seen both their fellow soldiers and civilians die in the hands of the enemy.

Being hit by stray bullets is also a pretty common occurrence while you’re in the battleground as described by Sgt. Rillera.

“Doon [sa Marawi] ‘di mo alam kung sino yung bumabaril sa iyo, Bigla na lang may bumabagsak na bala, talagang malalaki,  At saka marami nading na hit doon ng mga stray bullets. Minsan may naglalakad lang, bigla na lang matatamaan ng bala, yun yung masakit,” Sgt. Rillera shared. (In Marawi, you do not know who is firing at you. You will just see the rain of bullets. A lot of people would be hit by stray bullets. One was just walking and he was also hit by a bullet.)

Staff Sgt. Ibasan also described the situation in Marawi.

“Di mo pa natatapos ‘yung ginagawa mo sa isang kasamahan nandiyan  na naman — may blast na naman, may darating na naman, Di mo na alam kung anong uunahin mo… Halos lahat ng injury nakita ko talaga doon — gunshot, shrapnel, amputations, mga  putol, wasak. Merong one time noon na dumating sa amin yung critical, ginawa namin talaga lahat pero kung baga, hanggang doon na lang talaga siguro siya,” Sgt. Ibasan told The Manila Bulletin. (I have barely finished tending to a wounded soldier when another blast was heard and more wounded soldiers would be brought in. I did not know who to tend to first. I have seen all kinds of injury in Marawi. One time, there was a soldier in a very critical condition. We did what we could but then he still died.)

The rescued hostages were assigned to Capt. Flores to be taken care of. This experience made her realize that unity is key in obtaining peace and order in the country.

“Mahirap ang gyera, talagang lahat apektado. Ang hirap  i-explain through words nakaka-iyak. Ang bottom line doon is tingin ko lahat talaga dapat mag tulungan. Doon sa Marawi, nakita yung samahan lahat ng forces, Army, Air Force, Navy, Police. Then yung mga sibilyan nagbibigay ng support sa sundalo. Grabe  nakaka- touch,” Cpt. Flores said while trying to hold back her tears. (War is difficult, everyone is affected. It’s hard to explain it in words how difficult and hard it is. The bottom line is we should help one another.)

Sgt. Ubalde added that they were inspired to fight harder for the country because of the support they were getting from civilians.

“That time nasa hospital ako marami akong civilian na bisita. Nagbibigay sila ng effort nila sa amin kaya kami [mga sundalo], talagang napipilitan talaga kaming  i-angat yung bansa natin,” he stated. (They visited me in the hospital. They gave us their wholehearted support. How could I not fight for them and for our country?)

A Different Kind of Challenge

Most of the wounded soldiers have no experience in baking. Captain Geefher G. Flores, designated  General Manager, also emphasized how challenging it is to manage and sustain the bakery.

“Maraming naging challenges [sa pag put up ng Noble Bakers]. Kasi sundalo kami, ‘di naman kami business minded, business oriented. Unang challenge was  paano mag- start, then sino ang magma-market, ano ang ipo-produce namin everyday, magiging okay kaya iyung quality, mga packaging, lahat lahat,” she said. (There were many challenges in putting up Noble Bakers. You see, we are soldiers and we are not business-minded at all. The first challenge was how to start, how do we market it, what do we produce every day, will the quality of our products be okay, the packaging etc.)

Eventually, the bakery has started to generate revenue and remit funds to the SOCOM Foundation Incorporated. This is where other beneficiaries can receive financial assistance. Second Lieutenant April Laput, Noble Bakers’ operations manager, explained how beneficiaries were chosen.

“Yung units ng Special Operations Command, sila yung nasa frontline sa gyera. Actually, sa buong Philippine Army, sa SoCom yung may pinaka most (number of) casualties nung Marawi conflict. Since di na sila pwede sa combat, mas productive sila in other ways so ang naisip  natin ay mag- bakery business,” Laput stated. (SoCom units are the frontliners in every war. In the entire Philippine Army, SoCom has the most number of casualties in Marawi. Since they cannot do combat duty anymore, we thought of making them productive in other areas.)

“Nag hanap kami ng mga wounded soldiers sa bawat regiment, sa bawat units namin…Meron tayong mga personnel na yung profile nila is P3 or not physically fit for combat; so sila po yung kinuha namin,”  Laput added. (We looked for soldiers from each regiment and units who were P3 or not physically fit for combat.)

Sgt. Ubalde expressed his utmost gratitude for being chosen as one of the beneficiaries of the project.

“Ito ay may malaking impact sa akin. Advantage na din sa amin [na napili]. Pag nakapag retiro, pwedeng makapag- tayo ng sariling negosyo,” the Marawi fighter said.

The same sentiment was expressed by Corporal Jordan Dela Cruz who has plans to one day establish his own bakery.

“Marami akong natutunan [sa training]. Kung sakali man na mawawala ako sa  military service in the future magagamit ko talaga [yung mga natutunan ko sa baking] para sa pang hanap buhay. (I learned a lot from my training. In case I finally leave the military service, I can use what I learned in putting up my own business.)

What Makes Baking and Soldiering Similar

Soldiers and bakers might seem vastly different to most, but for Sgt. Ubalde and the rest, baking has its similarities with life in the military. According to them, both jobs require mastery and precision.

“Sa baking at sa pagsusundalo dapat hands-on ka, para ma-master mo [yung skills na kailangan]. Parehas din sila [yung baking and soldiering],”

Lt. Laput and Capt. Flores  both agreed that a hands-on approach is needed in baking and soldiering to master the skills.

“Ang soldiery kasi parang sa training lang yan. Sa una di mo siya ma-a-adapt, like sa pag gawa ng tinapay di mo makukuha yung tamang timpla, sa training ganoon din, Di mo pa ma be-blend agad yung sarili mo. Whereas kung nag-practice ka ng nag -practice kung paano gumawa ng tinapay, makukuha mo yung tamang timpla, at kung na-train at na-train mo yung sarili mo makukuha mo na yung perfect na mindset, positive attitude na madadala sa battle field,” Lt. Laput stated. (It all boils down to training. In making bread or being a soldier, you need to practice and practice until you get it right. You have to have a perfect mindset and positive attitude. These you will bring to the bakery and to the battlefield.

“Kapag kulang yung training ng isang sundalo, di siya magiging buong sundalo kung baga, di siya tatagal sa serbisiyo. Tulad din ng pag be-bake pag-kulang ‘yung ingredients mo, or na sobrahan sa ingredients mo, sablay ang lasa, palpak, di mo ma-bebenta,” Cpt. Flores added. (If you lack training, then you cannot be a complete soldier and you won’t last long in the service. It’s just like when you are baking, if your ingredients are lacking, or you overdid some of it, then you product will come out bad and you will not be able to sell it.)

via Manila Bulletin / Noreen Jazul