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Sunday, March 19, 2017
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ILOILO City – The role of women during the Second World War that resulted to the country’s liberation from the Japanese forces must not be forgotten.
This was underscored by Retired Lieutenant General Ernesto Carolina, administrator of the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO), during the 13th Iloilo Veterans Memorial Day held at the provincial capitol grounds on March 17. The celebration has for its theme, “Honoring our Unsung Heroes.”
“When we celebrate the unsung heroes, let us also remember the women who also made sacrifices, offered their lives and contributed to the freedom we are enjoying today,” he said, noting that the memorial coincided with the country observance of March as National Women’s Month.
Friday’s event was a prelude to yesterday’s 72nd commemoration of the Liberation of Panay at the Balantang Memorial Cemetery National Shrine in Barangay Quintin Salas, Jaro district.
The Women Auxiliary Corps (WAC) started as the Women Auxiliary Service (WAS) in Iloilo and organized by then Natividad Peralta, wife of Lieutenant Macario Peralta who led the guerrilla warfare in Panay.
“Many of the unsung heroes of the war were women. They did their part attending to the wounded, gathering food for the frontline, gathering even intelligence and risking their lives. A lot of them paid for it,” said Carolina.
Carolina lauded the city government for having a Veteran’s Memorial Day. Iloilo, he said, is one of the “very few” areas in the country where the significant day for veterans is remembered.
“It is here in Iloilo where we have the most successful resistance movement in the Philippines during the war against the Japanese,” he said.
Carolina pointed out that the success of the movement here was boosted by the supportive political leadership. Peralta provided the military leadership and Tomas Confessor, governor during that period, provided political leadership, he added.
“We share in the pride of the people here. And I say that the pride has to be shared by all Filipinos because there is no such thing as regional pride but national pride,” he said.
The PVAO chief said that more than a hundred of the little more than 8,000 World War II guerillas who are still alive are from Iloilo.
“There is nothing that we can do to fully repay them. Maybe the least that we can do is make sure that the self-sacrifice, the patriotism, the love for country that they have displayed during the Second World War will be imbibed by our young people,” he emphasized.
Commander Claro O. Daulo Sr., president of the 6th Military District World War II Veterans Association Inc. said that 1,421 veterans from Panay Island died defending the country. (PNA)
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