Solon files bill declaring Sept. 2 holiday in Ifugao

By Vency D. Bulayungan and Daniel Codamon

KIANGAN, Ifugao – Rep. Teddy BaguilatJr, had filed house bill 2938 declaring Sept. 2 of every year a special non-working holiday in the province in observance of the surrender of Japanese forces here which ended World War 2 in the Pacific.

“Because of the significance of the Victory Day celebration, this will give the people of this province time to commemorate properly Philippine National Victory and Liberation Day.

The bill was recently passed on third reading, he said.

It was on Sept. 2, 1945 when Japanese Imperial Army General Tomoyuki Yamashita, the Tiger of Malaya, informally surrendered to Filipino-American soldiers in this town.

Baguilat said ‘it is but fitting that the public will remember on this day the valor of our heroes, the veterans who are all too often forgotten. “We salute our heroes, for our country may be entirely different, perhaps a darker place to live in, if not for their sacrifices.

Baguilat invited some Japanese friends to grace the occasion saying the celebration aimed not to demonstrate who is the better warrior but to make sure that such sad occurrence will not happen again.

“We take note of what is common among us and among their commonalities is a longing for peace and harmony,: he said.“This is something we can develop as we strive to build a better world for this generation and the generations to come.”

Gov. Eugene Balitang meanwhile said there was a difference of the war which the veterans fought for in 1945 and the war which the present generation is facing. “In 1945, you know who the enemies are but now we do not know the enemy.”

He said that as he looked deeper into the situation, he found out the present generation was waging war against poverty and corruption.

He appealed to everybody to be vigilant in fighting these problems which the present generation is facing by doing something to overcome poverty and not relying everything on government to uplift their economic situation.

This year’s three-day Victory Day celebration was capped by various activities with the reenactment of the war portrayed and performed by the local theatrical group “TheatroKabule” at the municipal gymnasium reminding all those in attendance of the pains and atrocities of the war, the gallantry of men and the sweetness of freedom.

The performers reenacted the episodes of WWII from the beginning of the war, the battles fought, the suffering of the people, the bravery and heroism of the joint Filipino-American Army and the ultimate surrender of Yamashita in the morning of Sept. 2 to elements of the 6th Army led by Col. William Grisham.

Some people who were still young when the war happened could not suppress their tears as they saw the reenactment reminding them of the war and sufferings they experienced.

The act ended with the players dedicating the performance as a “salute to valor in honor of the men who served for freedom.”