Battle of Leyte Gulf

Some notes on the AFP. Yesterday the Philippine Military Academy marked its 124th Foundation Day with General Vidal E. Querol, chairman of the PMA Alumni Association, as guest of honor and speaker. It was on Oct. 25, 1898 that president Emilio Aguinaldo, on the recommendation of General Antonio Luna, issued a decree in the early days of the First Republic, establishing the Academia Militar in Malolos, Bulacan.

Today, the PMA under Maj. General Rowen Tolentino, remains the nation’s premier military institution, providing regular officers, both men and women, for the different major services of the AFP.

Two weeks ago, the Philippine Army honored Brig. General Leoncio S. Tan, the 11th commanding general, PA, class of 1928 by naming its museum facility after him. His great-granddaughter, 1st Lieutenant Lourdes Victoria “Love” David Sison, class of 2018 (90 years apart) is with the Philippine Marines as executive officer, 26th Marine Company, after a stint as a platoon leader in Tawi-Tawi. More and more of our women graduates are taking on not just administrative duties but also operational responsibilities. Ramon and Ching Punzalan, class of 1976, are proud members of this distinguished lineage.

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On the helicopter fiasco.

Juan Dela Cruz: We negotiate with the Russians for their helicopters, knowing full well that US sanctions would follow. We sign and close the deal with Russia, making a down payment of P2 billion. Then suddenly, we cancel the whole transaction precisely because of US sanctions hanging over our head. Does this make sense?

US Ambassador MaryKay Carlson: “We are very grateful for the Philippine decision to cancel the deal with Russia.” Translation: Thank you for seeing the light of day.

Russian Ambassador Marat Pavlov: “Philippine government has not officially notified Russia of any decision to cancel the deal. Russian company proceeded to manufacture the MI-17 after down payment was made. Filipino pilots who would operate the helicopters have already undergone Russian training...”

By the way, the $100 million in foreign military funding mentioned by Ambassador Carlson is subject to US congressional approval. It was the US Congress that blocked the sale of assault rifles for the PNP because of our human rights record.

When the US congressional delegation led by Sen. Edward Markey arrived in the Philippines recently, they were initially barred by police officers from seeing detained senator Leila de Lima. After some pushing, a second attempt was successful.

Do you think the US Congress will look kindly on this $100-million request, considering the treatment of their colleagues?

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For many of us, we remember Oct. 20, 1944 as the day when Gen. Douglas MacArthur landed in Red Beach, Leyte, announcing, “People of the Philippines, I have returned.” But perhaps, very few of us are aware that the campaign to liberate the Philippines from Japanese occupation was not, at one time, part of the grand strategy of allied forces in the Pacific theater of operations.

The US navy under Admiral Ernest King was in favor of bypassing the Philippines and leapfrogging further north to Formosa in the drive towards the Japanese mainland. But MacArthur wanted to redeem the “I shall return” pledge he made when he left Corregidor in May 1942. He argued for an invasion of the Philippines and in the end, president Franklin Roosevelt supported his position.

In hindsight, perhaps it might have been more merciful for the Philippines if the US navy position of bypassing us had prevailed. We might have been spared the deadly and devastating battle for the liberation of Manila that resulted in the horrible deaths of many civilians and non-combatants.

In 1944, from Oct. 22 to 25, an action considered by many historians as the greatest naval battle of World War II and by some, as history’s greatest naval engagement, took place in Philippine waters, specifically Leyte Gulf.

For the Japanese, it was the last chance to turn the tide of war. US strength in the Pacific had been growing after the disaster at Pearl Harbor, while the Japanese navy had not been able to replace its losses. Nearly every time the Japanese navy came to blows with the US navy, the former took a severe beating.

The recapture of the Philippines by the allied forces would be a serious blow for the Japanese. To prevent this situation from taking place, plans were drawn up for a massive fleet action against the Americans. The resulting engagement would involve more ships, planes, and men than any naval battle ever fought.

C.V. Woodward, who wrote the first full account of the battle, said, “Rarely in all naval history has a power staked so much on one operation as the Japanese did at Leyte Gulf and rarely has any power suffered such an overwhelming defeat.”

The battle consisted of two preliminary strikes against Japanese naval forces on the way to combat, and three massive engagements once the fleets tangled. Together these five actions made up what is known as the Battle of Leyte Gulf, marking the end of the Japanese imperial navy. The punishing defeat saw the sinking of four carriers, three battleships, six cruisers and 12 of its destroyers, as well as the loss of hundreds of planes. More than 10,000 Japanese airmen and sailors were dead, at the cost of less than 3,000 American lives lost.

In the end, for the Japanese, the defeat in Leyte Gulf meant the loss of the Philippines and closing the doors to any possible victory for Japan in the war.