Today (April 9) is a non-working holiday in the Philippines. By virtue of Executive Order No. 203 signed in 1987, April 9 of every year is Araw ng Kagitingan (Day of Valor). In addition, Proclamation No. 466 signed by Pres. Cory Aquino in 1989, designated April 5 to 11 of every year as Philippine Veterans Week in order to "promote, preserve and memorializa the principles, ideals and deeds of the Filipino War Veteran as a means to enhance patriotism and love of country, especially among the youth of the land."
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| Araw Ng Kagitingan, 2016. |
April 9, in 1942, is the date of the Fall of Bataan. On that day, officials in command of Bataan - where Filipino and American forces maintained the main resistance (for more than 3 months) in the war agains the Japanese - formally surrendered. Through the Voice of Freedom radio broadcast, 3rd Lieutenant Ildefonso Reyes - reading a message prepared by Captain Salvado P. Lopez - informed the Philippines and the world from Malinta Tunnel in Corregidor: "Bataan has fallen." After the April 9 surrender, 75,000 Filipino and American troops on Bataan were forced to make an arduous 65-mile march to a railway station in San Fernando, Pampanga where they were loaded into crowded box cars (train) that brought them to prison camps in Capas, Tarlac. The exact figures are unknown, but it is believed that thousand of troops died because of the brutality of their captors, who starved and beat the marchers, and bayoneted those too weak to walk. The survivors of the Bataan Death March were put in prisoner-of-war camps, where thousands more died from disease, mistreatment and starvation.
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| Photo of the Bataan Death March in 1942 |
Since 2013, the Philippine Veterans Bank (PVB) has been sponsoring/organizing the Bataan Freedom Run (BFR). The BFR was established as a way to commemorate the memories of the soldiers who endured the infamous Bataan Death March. In the words of one of PVB's executives:
"Our aim is to bring the whole family together in a meaningful event that remembers and honors our Filipino and American Heroes who fought for freedom during the Battle of Bataan. The event is aimed at raising awareness about the Bataan Death March, that it is not and is more than a defeat...Among our Southeast Asian neighbors, we were the only people who resisted the invaders to the point that their imvasion timetable wasn't accomplished and they had to send reinforcements from abroad."
The BFR is also a fund raising event and the funds generated are used for the maintenance and restoration of Bataan WWII historical markers.
Sadly, with the raging covid pandemic, the 2020 and 2021 editions of the Bataan Freedom Run were cancelled due to health and safety considerations.
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| The 2020 Bataan Freedom Run was postponed due to covid. |
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| 42km race route of BFR 2017 |
On the part of the Bicolano Penguin , I have been blessed to have had the honor of joining the BFR. This was in 2017 and my running buddies Bob, Ed, Ernie and Orly joined me in Mariveles, Bataan for the 42km event. Here are a number of photos from 2017:
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| The Bicolano Penguin joined by high school buddies Bob, Ed and Ernie in the BFR 2017. |
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| Orly joined too. |
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| Start of the 42km race of BFR 2017 |
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| As always, our running group is always at the last row of the start of a race. |
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| Ed running along a water reservoir on the hills of Mariveles. |
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| Down the hills and back to the town proper of Mariveles. |
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| Waiting at the finish area of the BFR were history buffs wearing military uniforms of the Japanese Imperial Army and the United States Army Forces Far East (USAFFE). |
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| Tasting the fruits of our labor: marathon finisher medals. |
It took me 6 hours and 6 minutes to finish the full marathon distance. Among 121 runners who joined in the marathon, the Bicolano Penguin ended up being the last finisher. It was my first time to be the last finisher in a long distance event and the BFR will not be the last race that I will be last man standing.
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| A Bicolano is the last finisher but so is the 1st finisher. |
During those 6 hours that I was running thru "hallowed" grounds, I cannot help but reflect on why it is important to commemorate an important day like the Araw Ng Kagitingan. It is important to remember the men and women of our beloved Philippines who have fallen in the line of duty and sacrificed their lives to protect te highest of ideals, and to keep us safe from enemies near and abroad. Remembrance is central to nation building and recovery. Our social memory is key to strengthening our nation.
Remember that everytime we have an opportunity to view a historical marker or a mounment commemorating the Fall of Bataan and the Bataan Death March.
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| Entangled in one another's arms, three soldiers stand in eternal tribute to the 75,000 men that braved the Bataan Death March in 1942. This larger than life bronze statue(s) called "Heroes of Bataan" is located in Veterans Park in Las Cruces, New Mexico. |
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| The Km 102 marker of the Bataan Death March is located in the old railway station in San Fernando, Pampanga. It is a de facto shrine for ultra runners in the country. |
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| Located inside the Capas National Shrine in Tarlac is a black marble wall engraved with the names of the Filipinos known to have died in the Bataan Death March. Arranged in alphabetical order of the family names. |
Honor and Respect.
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