page_title: Romulo Espaldon
section_title: Battle of Jolo
hierarchical_section_title: Romulo Espaldon / Notable career events / Battle of Jolo
caption_attribution_description: English: Citation from the Municipality of Jolo, Sulu given by Jolo Mayor Habib Aminkadra "Barlie" Abubakar to Rear Admiral Romulo Espaldon six years after the Battle of Jolo.
context_page_description: Romulo Mercader Espaldon was a Filipino military officer, civil servant, and diplomat. He was the first naval officer to attain the rank of Rear Admiral in the Philippine Navy. He became overall military commander in Mindanao at the height of the Muslim secessionist movement led by the Moro National Liberation Front in the mid-1970s, during which he promoted a "Policy of Attraction" which won the respect of many Muslims and led 35,411 rebels to return to the fold of law by late 1978, and over 40,000 rebels by the early 1980s.
context_section_description: On February 7, 1974, government forces began a military offensive against MNLF forces that managed to take control of the municipality of Jolo, Sulu, resulting in a large number of civilian and military casualties and substantial damage to the municipality. Considering Espaldon's preferred "Policy of Attraction" which saw a period of rebel returnees reintegrating into the mainstream, he reportedly opposed military operation in Jolo but was apparently overruled by the central government. 
  Espaldon would later be made part of the Executive Committee of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Rehabilitation of Jolo.
  
  In his article "February 7, 1974: The Jolo-caust," eyewitness Said Sadain Jr. narrates: "I always gave Admiral Espaldon the benefit of the doubt since it was his naval boats that mercifully plucked us out of the teeming pier of Jolo island and transported us to Zamboanga City in mainland Mindanao." Sadain Jr.'s narrative was cited by Dr. Michael Tan, former chancellor of University of the Philippines Diliman, in his article "From Jolo to Marawi":
  
  Six years after the Battle of Jolo, the Municipality of Jolo presented a Citation to Espaldon which reads:
caption: Citation from Jolo for Rear Admiral Espaldon
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