BALANGA CITY, Bataan—The Philippine Veterans Bank kicked off the 76th anniversary of the Bataan Death March commemoration with the Mariveles-San Fernando-Capas Freedom Trail event over the weekend.
The two-day, three-province event, which aims to instill the values of bravery, sacrifice and love for country, was highlighted by a retracing of the actual Death March 160km route by Armed Forces reservists and personnel, a 160-km run relay, motorbike tour, march, float parade, and poster-making contest awarding.
Veterans Bank’s Freedom Trail also honors Filipino World War II heroes and survivors by involving the public in this solemn remembrance of heroism.
Organizers prepared different categories to accommodate civilian, military and police units by running, walking or riding in two wheels while retracing the steps of our fallen heroes during the Bataan Death March.
“It is our generation’s responsibility to commemorate and honor the bravery and heroism of our veterans during the war,” said Mike Villa-Real, Head of Veterans Bank’s Corporate and Consumer Relations Division.
“It will be a sin to forget how valiantly they fought and how they looked out for their fellow soldiers amid torture, injury, and starvation. History will hold us accountable if the next generations forget the Bataan Death March,” he added.
The Death March, considered as one of the darkest days in Philippine History, is the forcible transfer of up to 80,000 Filipino and American prisoners of war from Mariveles and Saysain Point, Bagac, Bataan to Camp O’Donnell, Capas, Tarlac. The prisoners were loaded onto trains in San Fernando, Pampanga.
The march began sometime on April 11, 1942 and left thousands dead and seriously wounded after enduring torture under the hands of the Japanese Imperial Army.
The Death March route stretches from Mariveles in Bataan to Capas, Tarlac via San Fernando, Pampanga via the old roads.
The Freedom March was a torch-passing relay for AFP personnel and reservists and youth groups done in two days. Marchers were met by World War II veterans Florentino Platero, 88, and Cesar Aguirre, 90, on Saturday at Death March Kilometer 30 Marker in Barangay Puting Buhangin, Orion.
“The Freedom Memorial Trail recognizes the importance of the ROTC Unit for their efforts and service during the war. It shall be a rallying point for ROTC cadet officers, NSTP Students, ROTC Alumni members, and Army Reservists”, said retired General Resty Aguilar, PVAO Chief of the Veterans Memorial and Historical Division.
“There are only 6,000 more or less surviving war veterans in the country. In 3 years, none of them might be still alive as statistic shows 2,000 veterans die yearly,” Aguilar said.
Since 2014, the Philippine Veterans Bank, with PVAO and the provincial government of Bataan along with other partners have been holding the Bataan Freedom Run in honor of WWII veterans who endured the death march in 1942.
