The Philippines is hopeful that the memory of those who died during World War II will serve as a reminder for the world of the cost of reclaiming peace and defending it in the present time.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) made the statement as it joined the United Nations' Time of Remembrance and Reconciliation for Those Who Lost Their Lives during the Second World War.
In a tweet, the DFA said it was one with the rest of the world in remembering those who died during the war, particularly Filipinos, and the cost of reclaiming peace.
Today begins the United Nations' Time of Remembrance and Reconciliation for Those Who Lost Their Lives during the Second World War. pic.twitter.com/9RmN5a6nRh
— DFA Philippines (@DFAPHL) May 8, 2021
"The Department of Foreign Affairs joins the international community in honoring the memory of the estimated 527,000 Filipinos, both military and civilian, who lost their lives throughout the war," it said Saturday.
"May their memory serve to remind us of the cost of reclaiming lawful peace in the 20th Century as we stand to defend it in the 21st," he added.
The Time of Remembrance and Reconciliation for Those Who Lost Their Lives during the Second World War is an annual international day of remembrance designated by Resolution 59/26 of the United Nations General Assembly on November 22, 2004, a year ahead of the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II
The resolution urges "Member States, organizations of the United Nations (UN) system, non-governmental organizations and individuals" to pay tribute to the victims of World War II.
It begins on May 8, the anniversary of the date when the World War II Allies accepted the unconditional surrender of the armed forces of Nazi Germany and the end of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich.
This two-day observance gives the world the chance to remember people who died during World War II. The UN General Assembly in 2004 stressed that this historic event established the conditions for the creation of the United Nations, designed to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.
The Assembly likewise called upon the UN Member States to "unite their efforts in dealing with new challenges and threats, with the United Nations playing a central role, and to make every effort to settle all disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the Charter of the United Nations and in such a manner that international peace and security are not endangered."
World War II in the Pacific ended with Japan's surrender on August 15, 1945, nine days after the United States Army Air Force dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima.
Japan formally surrendered to the United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union on September 2, 1945.
The Philippines had its own share of blood and lost lives due to the Second World War. Japan launched a surprise attack on the Philippines on December 8, 1941. Under the pressure of superior numbers, the defending forces withdrew to Bataan and Corregidor.
Most of the 80,000 prisoners of war captured by the Japanese at Bataan were forced to undertake the march to a prison camp 105 kilometers to the north. As many as 10,000 men were said to have died in the infamous Death March on April 9, 1942.
The Japanese occupation in the Philippines ended on July 4, 1945, but not after a three-week intense fight that resulted in the surrender of the Japanese.