(A story written by Juan Manuel Del Gallego, former Secretary to the Mayor of Ragay, Camarines Sur, where the Headquarters of the Philippine Army's 42nd Infantry Battalion was based from 1998-2002.)

On the night of July 28, 2001, a house located in Sitio Naposte, Barangay Amomokpok, Ragay, Camarines Sur, where several NPA rebels were allegedly staying was raided by elements of the Philippine Army’s 42nd Infantry Battalion.

Four suspected NPA guerrillas were killed during the ensuing firefight while another one, in his early teens was captured. His name was Mathias Rafael Padilla Din.

Din came from a well-to-do family from Northern Philippines. In fact, his mother is a sister of Rep Carlos Padilla. He was a 2nd-year Engineering student and scholar of the University of the Philippines – Diliman, when he was captured.

For the people of Ragay the news wasn’t really the encounter between the AFP and the NPA or the resulting body count, for they were already used to such violent incidents. What surprised them though was the capture of a rebel suspect – alive and unharmed!

Later, they would find out that faithful adherence to the AFP’s “Rules of Engagement” was being strictly observed upon orders of the 42IB’s new Commanding Officer, Colonel Danilo Lim.

As a prisoner under then Col. Lim, Din was never maltreated nor abused. It was Danny Lim himself who contacted the boy’s parents informing them of his condition and whereabouts. Upon his capture, the boy was emaciated and so weak that Lim suspected he either had typhoid or malaria. True enough, when he was brought to the Ragay District Hospital, he was found positive for malaria and was given the proper medication and treatment.

While in camp, he ate three meals a day on the same table with Lim, who even had his men fetch water from a distant source, for Din's personal hygiene use.

When the boy’s parents arrived at the Battalion Headquarters based in Ragay, they were welcomed inside the camp and were even allowed to stay until he was transferred to the Camarines Sur Provincial Jail, upon the court's order.

This short anecdote, from among the many throughout his career, exemplifies the true character of Danny Lim and what he stands for. His professionalism earned for him the respect of both, civilians and soldiers, which remains up to now.