Noy to lead war vets in marking Fall of Bataan today

SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga, Philippines – President Aquino will lead today the Araw ng Kagitingan rites at the Dambana ng Kagitingan in Pilar, Bataan to mark the Fall of Bataan 71 years ago.

War veterans will welcome and join the President who will offer a wreath at the shrine upon his arrival, the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) said yesterday.

Japanese Ambassador Toshinao Urabe and United States Ambassador Harry Thomas Jr. will deliver messages before Aquino’s speech, the PIA said.

Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and Armed Forces chief Gen. Emmanuel Bautista are also expected to attend the rites.

The event commemorates April 9, 1942 when around 75,000 Filipino and American soldiers stationed in Corregidor and Bataan surrendered to the Japanese army under Lt. General Masaharu Homma.

The prisoners of war marched to Camp O’Donnell in Capas, Tarlac. But about 10,000 soldiers failed to reach the prison camp alive, in what is known today as the Bataan Death March.

Dambana ng Kagitingan was built atop Mount Samat in 1966 in memory of these soldiers. The shrine’s most distinct feature is a 92-meter memorial cross made of marble, steel and concrete. At the base of the cross is a sculptural bas relief that depicts important historical events and battles in the Philippines, PIA noted.

Military field units are also expected to hold commemorative rites in their respective areas. Wreath laying ceremonies will be held in Baguio City, Batac in Ilocos Norte, Isabela, Albay, Leyte, Iloilo City, Cagayan de Oro, Davao City, Cotabato City, Butuan City, and Zamboanga City.

Tomorrow, Tarlac Gov. Vic Yap will also lead ceremonies at the Death March shrine by offering a wreath at the camp and prayers, while a World War II veteran and a high school student will lead the tolling of a bell.

Yap will award war veterans including Belino Alumno (posthumous), Esteban Esco, Raymundo Gadgad, Alberto Bugtong, Robert Bellasi and Santos Fianza, the PIA said.

The Death March shrine features a 70-meter obelisk tower built in 2003 and encompasses 54 hectares of parkland where the Bataan Death March ended. The obelisk is surrounded by a black marble wall engraved with the names of the Filipinos and Americans known to have died at the location.

The camp was turned over by the Clark Air Base Military Reservation to the Philippine government on April 9, 1982.

Former President Corazon Aquino proclaimed it as Capas National Shrine on Dec. 7, 1991.

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said yesterday Araw ng Kagitingan should serve as a reminder to all Filipinos that they can be brave not only against foreign aggressors but also under “any challenging circumstance.”

“Araw ng Kagitingan should also be a celebration of our democracy and of gratitude for the valor of those who have selflessly risked or offered their lives to afford us our freedoms,” Belmonte said.

“Many who have survived the famed Death March in 1942 are in their twilight years now and it is my hope that their example of bravery and deep love of country becomes even more valuable to our youth who reap the fruits today of what they had fought for many decades ago,” he added.

Belmonte said as the country renews its gratitude for the war heroes, its gratefulness should “translate into concrete endeavors to afford the Filipino veterans and their families with the dignified life they deserve.”

Campaign against pension fixers

Meanwhile, United Nationalist Alliance senatorial candidate and Cagayan Rep. Jack Enrile yesterday urged the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office to intensify its campaign against pension fixers who prey on ailing war veterans.

“In fairness to our veterans, the processing of their claims should be faster, entrapment operations on fixers should be intensified, and the prosecution of erring personnel and their contacts outside should be sped up,” Enrile said.

“It is simply unconscionable to subject our war heroes and their families to unnecessary delays due to red tape and pressure by fixers,” he added.

He recalled the involvement of his father, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, in World War II. The older Enrile joined the guerillas when the war disrupted his secondary education.

“He was captured by enemy forces, after which he served the US Quartermaster depot in Aparri, Cagayan,” the younger Enrile said.

Administration senatorial candidate Juan Edgardo Angara also urged the government to provide university scholarships to qualified dependents of soldiers and policemen killed in action as a lasting tribute to their bravery and sacrifice.

The Aurora congressman said there should be a permanent source of funding to pay for course fees and living costs of at least one descendant of battle casualties.

“This is to ensure that the death of their loved ones does not mean the death of their dreams for a better life and a better future,” Angara said. “Their parents – our men and women in uniform – gave their lives in the hope that we, ordinary citizens, could lead our lives normally and harmoniously,” he said. – With Rodel Clapano, Alexis Romero