LEYTE LANDING REVISITED

General Douglas MacArthur and the other Americans who waded ashore on Palo, Leyte in 1944 should not be the only ones honored in this year's Leyte Landing commemoration rites come October. Filipino guerillas must also take center stage, for they were the ones who helped make that landing possible by mounting operations against the Japanese in the weeks before the invasion.

One of those men who waded ashore with Gen. MacArthur was a certain Antonio Madrigal. What has become of him? At that time, he was a 26-year-old captain serving as military aide to President Sergio Osmena. A few years ago during another Leyte Landing celebration, Captain Madrigal was presented by then Executive Secretary Teofisto Guingona, to which the former was honored with a state decoration and citation.

Captain Madrigal was asked many questions about the landing itself. He was asked, for instance, whether it was true that Brig. Gen. Carlos P. Romulo - who was very short, nearly drowned when Gen. MacArthur's party got off the landing barge and started wading ashore. That was just a big joke, Madrigal said. He also recalled that among the persons who met the Americans was a pretty young girl named Imelda Romualdez. Even at that time, he said, her beauty was striking.

(Image from http://www.ncca.gov.ph/)

REMEMBERING MR. UNITED NATIONS

When the design for the UN flag was subject for approval by its member-nations, General Carlos P. Romulo (head of the UN General Assembly and the UN Security Council) pointed out a grand objection. The Philippines had been scratched out from the map of the world on the proposed flag. The artist explained that the omission was unavoidable, for he said it was no longer possible to include the Philippines on a world map bearing the size of a tablecloth. But the tiny man with a huge stature refused to listen at all to any and all excuses. Raising to his full height, the diminutive Tarlaqueno demanded: "I don't care how you do it, just put my country on that flag!"
Today, we have a different mutant-breed of generals (General Hermogenes Esperon Jr. and General Rodolfo Garcia) who would rather see our country in halves, possibly split into North Philippines and South Philippines. Thanks to their utter lack for love of country and absolute plenty for love of self interests, the present fighting taking place in Mindanao is due to their insistence on the Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) between the GRP panel and the MILF chieftains. At times like these, how we wish we had the likes of General Romulo who loved his country with passion and determination to keep it united under one flag. Thank you General Romulo!

(Image form http://www.medaloffreedom.com/)