Marine killed in Lanao Sur was good family man, say relatives

COTABATO CITY - The remains of the Marine sergeant killed in an ambush in Lanao del Sur is now in Isabela City in Basilan, relatives hurt with losing a clan member known to them as a responsible family man.

Sgt. John Milbert Pamaran of the 2^nd Marine Battalion and his companions were out for a community outreach mission last February 4 when they were ambushed in Barangay Cabasaran in Marogong, Lanao del Sur by members of the Dawlah Islamiya terrorist group.

The attack left three other Marines, Cpl. Mark Anthony Bañares, Sgt. Jeram Aradji and Sgt. Joan Aniñon, badly wounded.

The family of Pamaran resides in Barangay Tabiawan in Isabela City in Basilan, a component-province of the Bangsamoro region.

The Pamarans belong to the pioneer, closely-knit Pamaran-Cuevas-Furigay clan in Basilan, its members with different religions spread around the adjoining cities of Isabela and Lamitan in the island province.

“He is known to us, his relatives and friends as a very responsible husband to a wife who is a registered nurse, a good father to his two children who are still elementary pupils,” Pamaran’s cousin, Ronaldo Pamaran, said Friday.

Ronaldo said his slain cousin figured in many encounters with rebels in different areas in Mindanao, but never bragged about his exploits as a Marine serviceman.

“He was a good man, good father to his children, a boy and a girl,” said a friend, Arnel Rosario.

Pamaran was a son of a retired member of the Navy’s Philippine Marine Corps, according to his companions in the battalion where he belonged.

Isabela City Vice Mayor Kifli Salliman visited on Friday Pamaran’s wake and extended cash assistance to his wife.

Relatives told reporters they will bury Pamaran Monday at one spot in a family-owned land in Barangay Tabiawan.