Residents of Ifugao province are waiting for President Rodrigo Duterte to sign an enrolled bill that declares Sept. 2 as a non-working holiday in the province.
On Sept. 2, 1945, General Tomoyuki Yamashita surrendered to the US military in Kiangan town, ending Japanese resistance to the allied forces that came to liberate the Philippines. Yamashita was the commander of all Japanese Imperial army forces in the Philippines.
Rep. Teddy Brawner Baguilat Jr. of Ifugao, principal author of House Bill 5553, underscored the significance of Yamashita’s surrender in 1945 that paved the way to the liberation of the country from its colonizer.
Prior to the congressional adjournment on Oct. 12, the bill was transmitted to President Rodrigo Duterte for his approval and signature, after both the House and the Senate passed the measure.
“The 2nd day of September 1945 is a significant date in the history, not only of Ifugao but also of the country,” Baguilat said, in seeking to declare Sept. 2 of every year as a special non-working holiday in Ifugao province to commemorate the surrender of Yamashita.
He said Yamashita’s surrender should remind everyone “that we should keep in our hearts and minds the precepts of peace and harmony,” he said in the explanatory note of the bill.
Baguilat noted that the framers of the 1987 Constitution have recognized this important concept. He said that Section 2, Article 2 of the 1987 Constitution provides that “The Philippines renounces war as an instrument of national policy, adopts the generally accepted principles of international law as part of the law of the land, and adheres to the policy of peace, equality, justice, freedom, cooperation, and amity with all nations.
He said the bill’s enactment will also honor those who died during the World War II, and those who valiantly defended the Philippines, and the innocent lives victimized by the war.
“This will be a memorial that will allow people to ponder on the evils of war and the graces of peace especially in the province of Ifugao where it all ended,” said Baguilat.
The bill provides that the Provincial Government of Ifugao, in coordination with the municipal government of Kiangan, the National Historical Commission of the Philippines, the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office, and the Military Shrines Service, shall lead the commemorative programs and activities.
These programs and activities shall be participated by officials and employees of the national, provincial and municipal government agencies and instrumentalities, as well as civic, religious, non-government, business and civil society organizations.
