Change of date for Araw ng Kagitingan celebration sought

From the Philippine News Agency (Mar 7): Change of date for Araw ng Kagitingan celebration sought

Two Magdalo Party-list lawmakers have initiated a move to change the date of the commemoration of Araw ng Kagitingan or Day of Valor from the present April 9 to Sept. 3 of every year.

Reps. Gary C. Alejano and Francisco Ashley L. Acedillo are urging Congress to enact House Bill No. 6242, transferring the Araw ng Kagitingan from April 9 to Sept. 3 and declaring it as a legal holiday.

“It is high time for the Philippines to recognize our country’s military victories,” Alejano and Acedillo stressed.

They explained that the country is replete with the commemoration of military defeats and deaths, as exemplified by the observance of the surrender of Filipino soldiers to the Japanese forces every April 9, Dr. Jose Rizal’s death every Dec. 30, and the assassination of former Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. every Aug. 21.

“The third day of September is the appropriate date to observe the Day of Valor due to two coinciding events: the magnanimous victory of the Filipino forces during the 1896 Battle of Imus and the unconditional surrender of Gen. Tomuyuki Yamashita in the Philippines in 1945,” the bill's authors, who are former officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, pointed out.

They also recalled that on the third day of September 1896, the Battle of Imus was culminated. It is recognized as the first big battle of the Philippine Revolution which the Filipinos won.

“The Battle of Imus boosted the morale of the revolutionaries who were defeated in San Juan del Monte. It also sparked many more citizens to join the fight for independence as revolutionaries,” the lawmakers added.

History shows that the Battle of Imus started on Sept. 1 when Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, after suffering a defeat in Bacoor, joined forces in Imus with Capitan Municipal Jose Tagle. The revolutionaries besieged and captured the church of Imus. On the third day, Aguinaldo’s forces annihilated a large Spanish force under Gen. Ernesto Aguirre, capturing a large amount of arms.

On the third day of September 1945, the authors added, Gen. Tomuyuki Yamashita, the so-called Tiger of Malaya and commander of the Japanese forces in the Philippines, formally surrendered in Camp John Hay, Baguio to the American forces. Yamashita’s surrender, which took place in Kiangan, Ifugao, marked the beginning of the liberation of the Philippines after five years of Japanese rule, they said.

“This day, September 3, would present itself as an opportunity for the Filipino people to celebrate our country’s military milestones as well as on the duties called upon them as citizens of the Philippines,” they stressed.

HB 6242 is now under consideration by the House Committee on Revision of Laws chaired by Pangasinan Rep. Marlyn L. Primicias-Agabas.

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