Bartolome Vicente Bacarro

Bartolome Vicente O. Bacarro is a Philippine Army general officer and a recipient the Philippines' highest military award for courage, the Medal of Valor. He is the current commanding officer of the 502nd Infantry Brigade of the 5th Infantry Division. General Bacarro is a member of Philippine Military Academy Class of 1988.

Then-Second Lieutenant Bacarro was the commander of the 6th CAFGU Active Auxiliary Company, 21st Infantry Battalion of the 5th Infantry Division in January 1991 when his unit figured in a 10-hour firefight with approximately 150 New People's Army rebels in Maconacon, Isabela. Despite being wounded in his left thigh, Bacarro scaled a high wall surrounding a compound where his CAFGUs were pinned down by enemy fire. He then commandeered a truck and rammed the wall, allowing the CAFGUs an exit point. He then had his wounded men evacuated, along with a wounded civilian. His 50-man force suffered three killed in action; the communist rebels, sixteen.

Medal of Valor citation
"By direction of the President, pursuant to paragraph 1-6a, Section II, Chapter 1, AFP Regulations G131-053, General Headquarters, Armed Forces of the Philippines, dated 1 July 1986, the MEDAL FOR VALOR is hereby awarded to: FIRST LIEUTENANT BARTOLOME VICENTE O. BACARRO 0-9864 PHILIPPINE ARMY For acts of conspicuous courage, gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty during a ten-hour encounter with about 150 fully armed communist terrorists that attacked the town of Maconacon, Isabela on 26 to 27 January 1991, while serving as Commanding Officer, 6th CAFGU Active Auxiliary Company, 21st Infantry Battalion, 5th Infantry Division, Philippine Army.

In spite of the overwhelming number of the armed insurgents and aware of the lack of air and artillery fire support and without any possible troop reinforcement due to time, location and weather constraints, then SECOND LIEUTENANT BACARRO courageously closed-in and engaged the enemy in a fierce firefight. Despite being wounded, he executed a systematic attack through proper maneuvers and strict adherence to fire discipline by firing only at sure enemy targets to conserve their ammunition and spare the civilians from being caught in the crossfire. He successfuly led his team in inflicting maximum casualty on the enemy. His display of unflinching and indomitable courage inspired and motivated his men to fight courageously.

Disregarding the pain and oozing blood due to the wound in his left thigh, he climbed a nine-foot high fence of the ACME compound even under heavy enemy fire, commandeered one dump truck, and rammed the fence that provided an entry point to his men outside, thereby releasing enemy pressure to the members of the Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit who were pinned down by the enemy inside the compound. He also extricated one wounded civilian, along with his men, for immediate treatment.

Under his leadership, his men fought ferociously, denying the enemy to overrun the town. His gallant efforts resulted in the killing of 16 terrorists, wounding of several others, recovery of 1 Caliber 7.62 mm M14 rifle, one Caliber .30 M1 Garand rifle, one claymore mine and one home-made land mine. By these outstanding deeds, FIRST LIEUTENANT BACARRO exemplified himself in combat in keeping with the finest tradition of Filipino soldiery."