“He is the most decorated soldier in the Philippines.”
Ariel Oliva Querubin is the most decorated soldier in the Philippines.
He has no less than 49 medals and decorations, more than the 28 medals of Audie Murphy, America’s most bemedaled soldier.
Ariel’s awards include the Medal of Valor, the military’s highest decoration for bravery, the Most Distinguished Conduct Star, three Distinguished Service Stars, seven Gold Cross Medals, and 12 military merit medals.
His Medal of Valor citation reads in part:
“For acts of conspicuous courage, gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty as Commanding Officer, Marine Battalion Landing Team-1, Philippine Marine Corps, Philippine Navy during a 24-hour firefight against an estimated 300 fully armed men belonging to the separatists Moro Islamic Liberation Front at Bgy Inudaran, Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte from 18 to 19 March 2000.”
Ariel had just 117 men during the 2000 battle. His victory brought relative peace to the island and stopped kidnappings that had netted the MNLF P38 million yearly in ransom.
He was deemed resigned on Nov. 30, 2009 but he retired formally on Dec. 23, 2021 when the Philippine Marine Corps tendered his long awaited retirement and testimonial ceremony.
Born in Dagupan, Pangasinan, Querubin grew up in La Union and studied in Manila. He was a member of the leftist student group Samahang Demokratiko ng Kabataan (“Democratic Association of Youth”) until he attended the Philippine Military Academy, graduating in 1979. He opted to become an officer in the Philippine Marine Corps.
He was an active participant in various military operations during the ongoing Communist rebellion and the Moro conflict in the Philippines, the world’s two longest insurgencies.
He is credited with the neutralization of various rebel leaders of both the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army and the Moro National Liberation Front.
They include CPP-NPA provincial chairman Jessie Rafael in 1981, four MNLF commanders in 1983, the NPA commander known as “Ka Ninong” and MNLF commander Racquel Carreon, both in 1988. He led in the rescue of Hans Kunzli, a Swiss national kidnapped by a group led by a former member of the Moro National Liberation Front.
On Aug. 28, 1987, Reform the Armed Forces Movement (RAM) rebels led by Gregorio Honasan attempted a coup against President Corazon Aquino. They attacked Malacañang Palace, Camp Aguinaldo and Villamor Air Base. Querubin, along with Red Kapunan and Juancho Sabban, attempted to bring PMA cadets from Baguio to Manila to support Honasan.
In 1989, then Captain Querubin co-founded the Young Officers’ Union (YOU) which along with another group known as the “Soldiers of the Filipino People” (SFP) and RAM, participated in the most serious coup against Corazon Aquino’s government.
Querubin almost died in clashes with troops loyal to the government. In 1989, he was hit by a Sikorsky helicopter gunship and was brought to the morgue of the Quirino Labor hospital where he was mistaken for dead until a doctor saw his PMA bullring and his little finger twitched. He was with other lifeless bodies and had cardiac arrests three times before reaching the AFP Medical Center at V. Luna.
At V. Luna’s Surgical ICU, Ariel saw his future wife, Dra. Loreta Cercenia. She was a member of the three surgical teams that did a 13-hour surgery to repair his ruptured pancreas and liver whose left was damaged and cut 6 feet of his small intestines. When he opened his eyes, Dr. Cercenia was dressing his wounds.
The mutiny of 1989, the bloodiest ever, failed and Querubin and his co-coup plotters were detained. They were granted amnesty by President Fidel Ramos (June 1992-June 1998) who succeeded Aquino.
After his amnesty, Querubin re-entered the military. In 1994, he was credited with the neutralization of Barahama Sali, which led to the eventual release from captivity of Catholic priest Fr. Cirilo Nacorda who had been kidnapped by the Abu Sayyaf in Basilan. He was also involved in the 2002 operation that killed the terrorist kidnap group Abu Sayyaf leader Abu Sabaya.
In 2000, Querubin, by then a lieutenant colonel, was conferred the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ highest honor, the Medal of Valor for conspicuous courage, gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty during a 24-hour March 18-19, 2000 firefight against 300 fully armed separatist guerillas of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MNLF), in Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte. His capture of Camp John Mack resulted in the neutralization of the MILF’s most strategic staging area for operations and, more importantly, liberated the residents along the coastal municipalities of Lanao del Norte from the oppressive MILF revolutionary collection estimated at P 38 million yearly.
On Feb. 24, 2006, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo declared a state of emergency after her government foiled a coup plot called Oplan HACKLE.
Fourteen junior military officers had been arrested two days earlier, Feb. 22, 2006. On Feb. 26, 2006, Major General Renato Miranda, the Philippine Marine Corps Commandant, was relieved from his post. Colonel Querubin protested his removal and some Marines started a vigil at Fort Bonifacio. Querubin stated that they would wait there for the people to protect them.
Meanwhile, other government security forces loyal to Arroyo locked down Fort Bonifacio, sealing in the protesting Marines. The standoff was resolved the evening of Feb, 26, 2006. Querubin was detained at Camp Aguinaldo to face court martial.
In 2010, President Benigno Aquino granted amnesty to military personnel linked to the 2003 Oakwood mutiny, the 2006 Fort Bonifacio standoff, and the 2007 Manila Peninsula siege.
Having left the military and been granted amnesty, Querubin worked as an internal security consultant for San Miguel Corporation.
Ariel resigned his commission from the AFP to run for Senate seat under the Nacionalista Party in the 2010 elections. He lost after garnering 6.5 million votes, 19th in the race. Only 12 Senate seats were at stake.
Querubin had two children with his first wife, Dr. Loreta Cercenia-Querubin (who died in 1994 at age 31)—Alfred Benjamin and Francesca Eufrosina, and three with his second wife, Pong Azcaraga—Jose Ariel, Ariel, and John Ariel.