"For what sustained them through these months of incessant battle was a force more than physical. It was the force of an unconquerable faith - something in the heart and soul that physical adversity and hardship could not destroy."
- Excerpt from the Apr 9, 1942 "Bataan has Fallen" message broadcast written by Capt. Salvador P. Lopez .
April 9 is a regular holiday in the Philippines.
That is according to the Law of the Land. Specifically, Proclamation No. 727 issued by the Office of the President declaring the regular holidays and special (non-working) days for the Year 2025 in the Republic of the Philippines. In the said presidental proclamation, 10 regular holidays were listed including 4 in the month of April: Araw ng Kagitingan (Apr 9); Maundy Thursday (Apr 17); and Good Friday (Apr 18).
"So let it be written, so let it be done." A written order is set in stone and must be carried out. Glady, we citizens of the Republic carried out the observance of this glorius holiday.
What exactly are we celebrating or commemorating this Araw ng Kagitingan? Do we know why we remember this Day of Valour?
Araw ng Kagitingan commemorates the Filipino and American soldiers who stood up against Japanese invading forces in World War II. In April 9, 1942, General Edward "Ned" King, US commander of all ground troops on Bataan, surrendered more than 76,000 (64,000 Filipinos and 12,000 Americans) soldiers to Japan. Although a devastating military victory, their stubborn defense (Jan 16, 1942 to Apr 9, 1942) of the Bataan peninsula was a significant propaganda victory for Allied forces. But at what price of human life? As prisoners of war, the Filipino and American soldiers were forced to endure the infamous 160-kilometer Bataan Dath March from Mariveles, Bataan to Camp O'Donnell in Capas, Tarlac. Along the way, tens of thousands died due to famine, heat prostration, battle wounds, and execution-style murder in the hands of their Japanese captors. It is estimated that only 54,000 of the 76,000 prisoners were able to reach Camp O'Donnell.
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| Filipino and American soliders on the Bataan Death March in 1942 |
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| Black marble wall at the Capas National Shrine |
There is a Bataan Death March Memorial, specifically the Capas National Shrine, where there is a three-segmented, black marble wall engraved with the names of over 30,000 Filipinos who were incarcerated in the infamous prisoner of war camp.
As ordinary citizens of the Philippines, how do we commemorate the Araw ng Kagitingan? How do we celebrate the Valour of the thousands of heroes of the Bataan Death March? The current President of the Republic, in his message to the country on the 2025 Araw ng Kagitingan, said that valour can be shown through little acts of compassion, generosity, and kindness as they create meaningful waves of postive changes in communities.
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| Excerpt from the Araw ng Kagitingan message of Pres. Bongbong Marcos this Apr 9, 2025. |
Inspiring of Pres. Bongbong Marcos to highlight the importance of small acts in contributing to a bigger good. It points to the active participation of everyone in the Araw ng Kagitingan celebrations. Small and common acts are generally the purview of common folks like ourselves.
So what did the Bicolano Penguin and fellow runners (Bob and Orly) do on this Day of Valour? We run as what runners tend to do on a day that is a holiday. But not just any holiday run but a run along the hallowed grounds of the 160-kilometer Bataan Death March route.
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| Bataan Death March route |
For celebrating the Araw ng Kagitingan on the exact date of April 9, the trio of runners decided to run a portion of the BDM 102 km route, specifically from Km 91 BDM marker located immediately after the Guagua poblacion to Km 102 BDM marker located in the San Fernando old railroad station near the Pampanga provincial capitol. At roughly 11 kilometers, the distance is 1/10th the full distance of the BDM 102kms. We decided to cover a shorter distance because of heat index conditions in the summer time. Accuweather forecasted the heat index for the San Fernando area to be in the high 30s by mid morning. Prudence is the better part of valor, so they say.
Despite just a relatively short distance, our Araw ng Kagitingan Run this April 9, 2025 proved to be a satisfying and eventful one. After leaving Metro Manila at 4am and motoring north to Pampanga, the 3 of us runners were able to start our run by 6am. The 11 kilometer stretch connecting Guagua town to San Fernando City with Bacolor town in between is rich in history, culture and culinary delights. Let the photos tell the story:
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| Before starting the run, the BP visited the La Moderna Bakery which operated in Guagua starting 1947. An award-winning bakery operated by the Narciso family, its store is located in front of the town plaza. |
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| Some of the best-selling pasalubong goodies in La Moderna Bakery. |
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| The town plaza in Guagua is named after its most celebrated mayor - Manuel P. Santiago. Inside the park, facing the parish church is the Fr. Jose Burgos Monument where our running trio (L-R: Bob, BP & Orly) had a group photo at the start of the run. |
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| Also in the town plaza of Guagua is a historical marker for Diosdado Macapagal, the first Kapampangan to be elected President of the Philippines. Although born in the neighboring town of Lubao, Pres. Macapagal is well-loved that many towns in Pampanga, like Guagua, have a marker or monument for him. |
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| We officially started our run at Km 91 Death March marker which is less than half a kilometer from the Guagua town plaza. There are 138 Death March markers in all, from Bataan to Tarlac. There are 33 in Pampanga. |
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| Right before the Km 93 Death March marker is one of the most beautiful churches in Pampanga -the Santiago Apostol Parish Church. It is a a Baroque-style church located in the Betis District of Guagua. Centuries old, the Betis Church was declared a National Cultural Treasure by the National Commission for Culture and Arts on Nov. 5, 2001. |
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| The Betis District of Guagua is famed for scupture and woodcarving since Spanish rule. The BP and Bob passing by a monument showing the near perfect proportions of the human form which the Betis craftsmen are known for. |
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| Because of the Mt. Pinatubo eruption in 1991, several of the churches in Bacolor were buried in lahar. But the Catholic faihful of the town kept the faith and endeavored to resurrect their churches in many an ingenious ways. One of these churches along the Guagua-Bacolor-San Fernando road. |
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| The Death March Km 99 sits on the border between Bacolor and San Fernando. The marker is a concrete obelisk. The regular maintenance is carried out thru funds from the Filipino-American Memorial Endowment (FAME). |
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| Death March Km 102 is located in the old San Fernando train station (built in 1892) near the Pampanga provincial capitol. When our running trio arrived there, we saw that the old train station is currently covered with protective measures due to the ongoing construction of the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) project. |
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| After asking permission from the construction crew on site, Orly was able to take a photo of the Km 102 Death March marker. We hope and pray that the Acciona-Daelim Joint Venture (the contrator of the NSCR portion in San Fernando) will take sufficient diligence to make sure that this historically important marker is preserved and restored. |
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| Finish with our own version of the 2025 Araw ng Kagitingan 11km run, we have a photo for posterity in front of a stone market of the Bataan Death March. We finished before 8am. |
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| After our 11km run, it was time for Brunch. There were some seafood delights (from Pampanga and Bataan) to be bought at the San Fernando city market and we had one of the local eateries in the market cooked for us halabos na hipon, sinigang na lapu-lapu, and adobong pusit. |
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| An additional attraction for us in running in the province is the opportunity to taste the delicious cooking of local eateries. The one in San Fernando city market certainly did not disappoint. |
With our tummy satiated after that morning run along a portion of the Bataan Death March route, time for some reflections. Reflections about the run. Reflections about Araw ng Kagitingan.
The "Bataan has fallen" message written by Captain V. Lopez and delivered by 3rd Lt. Normando Reyes on the "Voice of Freedom" broadcast is widely considered a well-written and poignant piece. It had a strong emotional effect to the listening Philippine public, making them feel sadness but also pride in the heroic efforts of those who defended their country. The Fall of Bataan was a defeat in the battlefield but a strategic victory in the heart and soul of the Filipino nation. As I read thru all 298 words of the Apr 9, 1942 message, my running eyes are drawn to the sentence, in the middle of the message, which talks about the "unconquerable faith" that sustained the Filipino and American soldiers to continue the fight against all odds for almost four months.
Those two words "unconquerable" and "faith" look and sound familiar for us intrepid runners who have tackled and survived many ultramarathons like the Bataan Death March Ultramarathon and the Mayon 360 Ultramarathon. And the feeling is not just local but global as well. There is this author who writes about faith and running. His name is Michael D'Aulerio and in his longrunliving blog, he wrote that "faith doesn't eliminate the struggle but it gives us the courage to stay the course, even when the path feels impossible."
Definitely, the struggle and suffering of our Bataan Death March soldier-heroes are far far more greater and far far far more deeper than the struggle of modern-day ultramarathoners. But there is a common bond between the two: a deep sense of faith.
God bless all the heroes of the Bataan Death March. Mabuhay ang Araw ng Kalikasan.
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