The Battle for Manila: Tragic February

Tragic February

The Battle for Manila which took place in the whole
month of February in 1945 was fought by the advancing
armed forces of the United States of America and the
defending Japanese Imperial forces toward the end of
World War II. That infamous battle killed one hundred
thousand (100,000) non-combatant civilians and
destroyed almost the whole of the city of Manila,
then considered the "Pearl of the Orient."

For many decades, that battle was referred to as the
Liberation of Manila but a few years ago, the National
Historical lnstitute officially changed that to the
"Battle for Manila." Although that was a historically
and politically correct decision, many Filipinos still
do not appreciate its importance, nor comprehend the
difference between "liberation" and "battle for (not of)".

Manila is fortunate to have a mayor who has a sense
of history and who respects history. Mayor Alfredo S.
Lim has assigned the Manila Historical and Heritage
Commission, headed by Mrs. Carmen Guerrero-Nakpil, to
organize the formal commemoration of the 63rd
Anniversary of the Battle for Manila. During the
meetings of the ad-hoc committee, it was evident that
the tragic February in 1945, after more than half a
century is still an extremely emotional and
controversial issue. Should the commemoration be a
memorial to a nation's profound bereavement or should
it be a festive accolade, an amnesiac embracing of
former foes in the spirit of globalization?
Let us forgive but never forget!

What we seem to have forgotten, or more precisely,
what we have systematically been made to forget is
another tragic February of more than a century ago. On
4 February 1899, the Philippine-American War broke out,
lasted for thirteen years during which a million
Filipinos died and the first republic in Asia was crushed.

It can be argued that both Februaries were
devastating to the life and future of the Filipino
nation. We lost lives in the most horrendous fashion
during the Battle for Manila and the
Philippine-American War , not only that, we also lost
heritage structures, public works painstakingly built,
entire towns and cities disfigured by hamletting
and "reconcentracion"; we also lost institutions, the
"brains of the nation", " la crema y nata" or the
best and the brightest.

Most painful is our memory loss, national
amnesia now chronic and in epidemic proportions.
Very few Filipinos do not even know what they should
remember of the two tragic Februaries. Let us
commemorate both.

Gemma Cruz Araneta gemma601@yahoo.com