OF the estimated 80,000 Filipino and American prisoners of war, who took part in the infamous Bataan Death March 76 years ago, only three are still alive with their age past the century mark.
Records at the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office named the centenarian war veterans as Pfc. Juliano de la Peña, 107, Col. Catalino del Rosario Ibañez, and Col. Vicente F. Alhambra Sr., 102.
Despite his age, De La Peña personally visited the PVAO on Thursday to receive a commendation for his honorable and great service to the country during the World War II and as survivor of the Bataan Death March.
Senator Panfilo Lacson, who was guest speaker during the ceremony in Camp Aguinaldo, handed the plaque to De La Peña, and to 64 other war veterans who received the same commendation.
Lacson was assisted by PVAO administrator Lt. Gen. Ernesto G. Carolina (ret.). Alhambra and Ibañez received their plaques last year.
In the case of Alhambra, he held the distinction as a veteran of three wars—World War II, Korean War and the Hukbalahap anti-insurgency campaign in Luzon.
In an interview with Alhambra at his Cavite residence, the centenarian war veteran disclosed his secret to longevity and how he survived unscathed against the odds, including the infamous “Bataan Death March” because, according to him, “God was on his side” throughout the ordeal.
“Remain active but most of all be prayerful,” Alhambra said.
It was in Bataan and Corregidor where Filipino and American soldiers made their last stand against the Japanese during the war, which lasted more than three months before they surrendered on April 9 and May 6, 1942, respectively.
Alhambra kept his photo albums of World War II, the Korean War in 1950-53, and the anti-insurgency drive against the Huks.
He prays to God for protection, which he admitted was his secret weapon, especially during two wars and the fight against the Huks.
A graduate of the Philippine Military Academy Class of 1942, Alhambra and his classmates were automatically drafted into military service three months before graduation when World War II broke out following the bombing of the Philippines by Japanese planes on Dec. 8, 1941.
He said the entire PMA class of 1942, including Jose Crisol, who became defense undersecretary in post-war years, reported to then Armed Forces chief of staff Gen. Mariano Castañeda for immediate deployment to fight the invading Japanese forces.
“We were the first PMA class called to active duty,” Alhambra recalled.
He said Japanese warplanes bombed Baguio and Cavite where US naval forces were stationed at Sangley Point.
Alhambra said he was enlisted into the 2nd Regular Division of the United States Armed Forces in the Far East assigned in Mariveles, Bataan.
It was in Bataan that the bulk of Filipino and American forces stood their ground to defend the Philippines until they were forced to surrender on April 9, 1942 due to shortage of ammunition, food and medicines.
Alhambra described the fall of Bataan as a “sad day” as he and his comrades-in-arms became prisoners of war of the Japanese forces.
He said he was lucky that he did not get sick during the Death March from Mariveles, Bataan to San Fernando, Pampanga and during his incarceration in Capas, Tarlac, which lasted for several months before he and other POWs were freed.
“As many as 500 POWs died every day due to malaria in the concentration camp,” he said. “It was horrible!”
“While I was held a prisoner of war, a woman friend of mine gave me a mosquito net. The mosquito net was handed to a friend who, in turn, gave it to me inside my cell,” Alhambra related.
He also recalled the lack of food inside the concentration camp.
“We survived eating ‘tinapa’ if at all it was available,” Alhambra said. “We were lucky to eat once a day and that would suffice for our breakfast, lunch and dinner rolled into one.”
When liberation came, Alhambra found himself locked in battle, this time against the Huk insurgents in Central Luzon.
He survived anew but during the height of the insurgency campaign, Alhambra volunteered as a member of the 10th Battalion Combat Team (BCT) of the Philippine Expedition Force to Korea (PEFTOK), together with then 2nd Lt. Fidel Ramos, who later became the 12th President of the Philippines, and 1st Sgt. Maximo Young, a be-medaled Filipino soldier during the Korean War.
“The Korean War was brutal,” Alhambra said.
“But it was during the Korean War that proved again the bravery of the Filipino soldiers, who refused to back down against the wave by wave attacks by the enemy.”
The PEFTOK forces were highly trained in combat that of the 7,425 Filipino soldiers who fought in the Korean War, PEFTOK lost only 1,170 men.
Alhambra retired in 1967 as a colonel in the Philippine Constabulary.
Born on July 19, 1916, Alhambra will be 103 years old this July.
On the other hand, Col. Ibañez is a licensed civil engineer and a lawyer.
He is also known as the only PMA cadet who signed his own diploma and all the diplomas of his classmates because the PMA Class of 1942 went straight to war and had no graduation ceremonies.
It was only in 1948 that the Class of 1942 was ordered back to the PMA to attend their formal graduation exercises and received the long overdue diplomas.
But even in their twilight years, Alhambra and Ibañez chat together to recall their individual stories of World War II where their comrades-in-arms, Filipinos and Americans displayed their heroism and sacrifices in defense of freedom and democracy.