When Bautista returned from overseas training, he was posted at Basa Air Base but was reassigned to the 6th Tactical Fighter Squadron flying the North American F-86 Sabre.

On 11 January 1974, he took off from Edwin Andrews Air Force Base leading an element of two F-86 Sabres to support government troops that were under attack by a large number of armed rebels in Parang on Jolo Island, 200 miles away.

When he finally broke off after two bombing runs and five strafing passes, his fighter was severely damaged; his wingman, Lt. Roger Crudo, informed him that the aircraft was on fire.

He tried to divert to the nearby Jolo airstrip, but when his nose landing gear failed to fully deploy, he ejected at a low altitude of 1000 feet; the airplane exploded seconds afterward.

For his "uncommon bravery and tenacity in the face of overwhelming odds," the Armed Forces of the Philippines, under General Order 519, posthumously awarded Bautista the Distinguished Conduct Star on April 29, 1974.

[1][2] "Soldier Heroes, A handbook on the winners of the Major Medals Awarded By the Philippine Constabulary and the Armed Forces since 1902-1980", (circa 1981), National Media Production Center, Manila, Pages 110, 143