The finding of Japan’s imperial navy’s Musashi
For our special presentation on our talk show “Straight from the Sky,” we present a serious discussion on the so-called Bangsamoro Basic Law. Manila Standard columnist Bobi Tiglao pointed out last week that when the Tripoli Agreement was signed by the Philippine government and the Moro National Liberation Front and witnessed by the Organization of Islamic Countries in Libya, there was no mention of the term Bangsamoro. I don’t know why in the peace deal signed by the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front “Bangsamoro” is mentioned. Do they know what Bangsamoro means?
This is exactly the most important topic that is now in the national consciousness of the Filipino people because it was magnified by that ill-fated Oplan Exodus where 44 Special Action Force Troopers were killed by MILF rebels. So tonight we bring you our good friends Atty. Paul Oaminal, who hosts a show on the Cebu Catholic Television Network, and former ANAD Partylist Rep. Pastor “Jun” Alcover, Jr. Watch this very interesting show on SkyCable’s channel 61 at 8:00PM with replays on Wednesday and Saturday. We also have replays on MyTV channel 30 at 9:00PM then replays at 7:00AM and 9:00PM on Wednesday and Friday.
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Last Thursday, the Philippine Star featured a report that said billionaire Paul Allen who is also known as the co-founder of Microsoft has found the Japanese Imperial Navy’s Super Battleship Musashi at the Sibuyan Sea. The Musashi is a Yamato Class Super Battleship whose sister ship was the Yamato. They were the world’s largest battlewagons that carried 18-inch guns, while the biggest US Battleships, the Iowa Class, like the USS New Jersey or the USS Missouri carried only 16-inch guns. Most of the Royal Navy battlewagons, including the German battleships the Bismarck and Tirpitz carried only 15-inch guns.
But let me say it here that I am very sure that Mr. Paul Allen did not have any difficulty in finding the wreck of the Musashi. First of all, US Navy pilots that sunk her had photographs of the vessel as she was beginning to sink and you could see the outline perhaps of a part of Southern Luzon. The Musashi sunk in the middle of the islands surrounding Marinduque, Romblon, and southern Luzon.
It was unlike the difficulty that Robert Ballard of Woodshole Oceanographic Research experience when he was searching for the wreck of the SS Titanic in the vastness of the North Atlantic Ocean. Mind you, there are also other famous shipwrecks nearby. Notable amongst them is the Sulpicio Lines M/V Dona Paz and the M/V Princess of the Stars that sunk off Romblon.
Incidentally six-years ago, Gen. Dominador Resos, Jr. (Ret) came up with the Romblon Cultural Heritage where they celebrated the 65th anniversary of the Battle of Sibuyan Sea. Yes, in my correspondence with Gen. Resos, the people of Romblon knew where the Musashi sunk and few people realize that when a vessel as huge as the Musashi sinks, it brings to the surface a lot of debris, including dead bodies that get washed ashore. Remember when the Princes of the Stars sunk off Romblon, flotsam and dead bodies were strewn in their beaches.
When I wrote about the Battle of Leyte Gulf, someone from Surigao emailed me to say that thousands of dead Japanese navy officers were washed ashore in Dinagat Island and in Surigao. The land based Japanese Army officers forced the Filipinos to collect the dead bodies and burned them in their town square or plaza. Meanwhile Romblon is the only island municipality that wanted to commemorate the Battle of Sibuyan Sea and its biggest catch, the Musashi. With the discovery of the wreck, at least we now have colored photographs taken from an ROV. World War II stories always interests me.
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Since the January 25th debacle at Mamasapano, Maguindanao, the nation apparently hasn’t moved forward and the main topic in many coffee houses are about this very same issue simply because the truth really hasn’t surfaced because the allies of Pres. Benigno Aquino III in both the Senate and Congress have apparently and abruptly stopped. In short, they don’t want to proceed with the investigation because it may end up implicating the President because he is after all the Commander-in-Chief.
Then there is the issue of the BBL, which has been hugging the headlines of our national dailies. Malacañang insists that the BBL is constitutional, but those who oppose it believe that it is unconstitutional. So whether Congress can pass this law by June, which is allegedly supported by 80% of Congress, I’m sure that it would hit a snag in the Senate and if that passes then we can still rely on the Supreme Court to decide on this issue.
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