INTRAMUROS, MANILA – Mindanao was well represented in the recently concluded international conference commemorating the 80th Battle of Manila held at this historic walled city.
Four resource persons from Xavier University (Ateneo de Cagayan), Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT) and the City College of El Salvador (CCE) presented three of the 36 presentations featured in the two-day confab dubbed ‘War & Memory, 80 Years After’ organized by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) with the Philippine World War II Memorial Foundation in partnership with Lyceum of the Philippines University (LPU) on 18-19 February 2025 at the LPU.
“There is still much to know about WWII in the Philippines, new information, insights and perspectives about the war and humanity… this is a period in our history that our generation did not experience, yet one that we must not forget or ignore, because it is a significant part of our story as a nation…we honor the memory of those who fought for the freedom that we enjoy today,” NHCP Chair Regalado Trota Jose said on the gathering of scholars, researchers and enthusiasts at the conference.
Outlined by different panels, the talks started from the Early Philippine Campaign with the strategic role played by quinine from Bukidnon which disrupted the Imperial Japanese Army’s momentum in 1942 by provincial writer and community journalist Rene Michael Baños.
A graduate of Western Mindanao State University and Ateneo de Zamboanga University in Zamboanga City, and Xavier Ateneo School of Business & Management, he is a former commissioner of the Cagayan de Oro Historical and Cultural Commission (HisCom), and executive director of the Cagayan de Oro World War II and Veterans Studies Committee. Read more about his story by clicking on this link.
Faina C. Ulindang-Abaya, PhD presented during Panel 3A: Rise of the Resistance (Breakout), detailing the Lanao Guerrillas Response during the Japanese Occupation.
Currently a Lecturer-professor at Iligan Medical Center College, lligan City, and Full-Time Faculty in the History Department of Xavier University, Ateneo de Cagayan. Concurrently an Executive Committee member of the National Commission on Historical Research as Mindanao Representative for NCCA, she is also a member, Mindanao History and Studies-Advocacy Group Project of the Forum ZFD based in Davao.
Not the least, Celyn J. Teatro and Rose Jay Vidal jointly presented under Panel 6B-Postwar Issues, 1946 Recission Act (Breakout), the Journey of Pastor P. Ilogon, Sr., the Chief Food Administrator of the 109th Infantry Regiment from his farm in Lapad, Laguindingan (formerly Alubijid), Misamis Oriental, and his post-war struggle to get recompense from the money and other donations he made during the war. Read more about his story by clicking on this link.
Celyn J. Teatro, MIN is currently an Assistant Professor IV in the Department of History at MSU-IIT. She earned her undergraduate and graduate degrees from the same school, and is now pursuing her doctorate degree in History at the University of the Philippines-Diliman. For three (3) years, Prof. Teatro was designated as the coordinator of the Department of History’s MINSUPALA Studies center. She is also a member of Project Pasundayag, an extension project of History that showcases the history and culture of Northern Mindanao.
A Summa Cum Laude graduate of MSU-IIT, Rose Jay Vidal is currently a faculty member of the Department of General Education at the City College of El Salvador (CCE), where she teaches History and Social Studies. She is currently pursuing her Master of Arts in History at Ateneo de Cagayan – Xavier University. Her research interests encompass Local History, the Japanese occupation in Mindanao, and cultural heritage studies.
Thirty-six (36) speakers from the Philippines, US, UK, and Japan joined the two-day conference, with stories and studies of the war as seen through various eyes. These included a History Alive presentation, film showing, book selling, book launches, and book signings of recent WWII publications.
Stories of valor and survival from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao showed the effects of war on the nation and eighty years after, reminding us to never forget the sacrifices and valor of our forebears which enabled the freedom we enjoy today.
WWII was a conflict between the Allied and Axis forces and participated in by most countries, making it the deadliest war in history with almost 85 million deaths. In the Philippines, then a commonwealth of the United States, the occupation by Japan lasted three years and resulted in thousands of casualties. The capital Manila, was the second most devastated city according to historians, has never returned to its pre-war glory.
The NHCP is the national government agency mandated to promote Philippine history through its museums, research, and publications, and to preserve historical heritage through conservation and the marking of historic sites and structures. (With RMB and the NHCP Communications Team)
(cover photo: Mindanao presenters with Conference Co-Conventor Desiree Ann Cua Benipayo, photo courtesy of the NHCP Communications Team)
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