From noble warriors to noble bakers
Sgt. Eric Ubalde is no ordinary soldier of the Special Operations Command (SOCOM) of the Philippine Army. He is a man of many lives, as his fellow soldiers would tell him. He had survived so many gun battles, had endured several gunshot wounds, four to be exact.
The first time he was hit was during the Zamboanga siege. They were attacked by the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and was shot in his left leg. The second gunshot was during an encounter with a group of bandits in Jolo, Sulu where two Australian and Canadian nationals were abducted. He was hit in the shoulder.
Last November 29, 2017, Sgt. Ubalde was with the Presidential Security Group (PSG) as part of the advance party for President Rodrigo Duterte who was set to visit Lanao del Sur the following day, when they were ambushed and an improvised explosive device was detonated. Sgt. Ubalde was hit in the neck, sustaining his third gunshot wound.
He may have survived Marawi last May but he did not leave the war-torn province unscathed. While clearing one of the abandoned houses, the Maute terrorists fired at the soldiers, hitting him in the face. That was the last time he got shot.
To date, three bullets remain inside his body. “Di ko masyado magalaw may tumutusok. Ooperahan daw pag umangat na yung bala. Marami daw nerves na maapektuhan pag inopera,” Sgt. Ubalde said.
For now, he is confined inside Fort Magsaysay while recuperating from the gunshot wounds he sustained. He is thankful not only for having survived but also for being given a new lease on life. He was chosen as one of the beneficiaries of the Noble Bakers Project of the Aboitiz Foundation, the corporate foundation of the Aboitiz Group, in partnership with the SOCOM Foundation, Inc. (SFI).
Sgt. Ubalde along with 59 other wounded soldiers underwent a comprehensive bakery management training program provided by Pilmico Foods Corporation, the food subsidiary of Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc. They were taught how to cost & develop bakery products, bake bread, cakes, cookies, pizza dough, and a lot more.
Apart from the training, the Aboitiz Foundation also donated heavy-duty baking equipment like oven, mixer and baking utensils. The bakery inside Fort Magsaysay was built by the SOCOM. The Noble Bakers’ Bakery is now operational with captured market which includes the soldiers and residents inside Fort Magsaysay and even the adjacent schools.
According to Col. Rey Aquino, Deputy Commander of SOCOM, the earnings from the bakery will go to the dependents of the wounded soldiers. “Yung proceeds dito mapupunta sa SFI, yung sa special operations foundation, yan po yung nagsu-support sa mga wounded personnel natin, habang nasa ospital sila yung kanilang mga kamag-anak na nagba-bantay, meron tayong pang-sustain doon,” Col. Aquino explained.
“It is uplifting to know that the Aboitiz Foundation is able to help empower our soldiers. This project proves that we are able to make our resources more meaningful by using them to fulfill our promise of advancing business and communities by co-creating safe, empowered, and sustainable communities,” Maribeth Marasigan, Aboitiz Foundation First Vice President and Chief Operating Officer said.
Defense Sec. Delfin Lorenzana also expressed his deep gratitude to the Aboitiz Foundation for such innovative endeavor in lending assistance to the wounded soldiers.
“Allow me to take this opportunity to congratulate Aboitiz Foundation for the recent launch of the ‘Noble Bakers’ project in collaboration with the SOCOM. Noble Bakers is a good project that aims to benefit our disabled soldiers. I encourage all other Commands of the military to replicate this project as it is beneficial to the military community, the military dependents, and our disabled soldiers who can still and should lead productive lives,” Lorenzana said.
For Sgt. Ubalde, he finds great joy in helping his fellow wounded soldiers not with the use of guns or bullets but rather with the use of baking pans and rolling pins. “Na-challenge ako na di lang pala pangge-gyera, kahit ganito lang nakaka-tulong din pala ako sa mga kasama ko na wounded. Kasi pupunta din sa mga tropa na mga wounded yung kikitain ng bakery,”Sgt. Ubalde said.
Looking beyond, Sgt. Ubalde now has something to bank on when he retires from service as he hopes one day to put up his own bakery.
