PALO, Leyte – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. led the first in-person commemoration of the 78th anniversary of the Leyte Gulf Landing after two years of hybrid activities due to the pandemic here on Thursday, Oct. 20.

The President, son of a war veteran, the late President Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr., expressed support for initiatives that will not only preserve historical and cultural sites in the country but also deepen the Filipino people's sense of national identity.

He added that the government will continue to pursue the enhancement of relations with neighbors and help address global issues.

"As your President, you must be assured that this administration will always advocate for peace and unity," citing that they will domestically strengthen their peace-building efforts, especially in conflict-affected areas.

Meanwhile, US Ambassador MaryKay Carlson noted that "the Philippine-US alliance today is stronger than ever."

She said that planning is already under way for Exercise Balikatan 2023 which aims to be the most sophisticated and intensive ever.

"These, and our many other joint exercises, help improve combined responsiveness to crises in the region and further reinforce our decades-long partnership," Carlson said.

The Leyte landing anniversary honors the bravery and heroism of Filipino veterans who sacrificed their lives to liberate the Philippines during World War II.

As the scars of last great war disappear, a significant decrease in the number of surviving war veterans has been observed in Eastern Visayas.

From 97 last year, they are now down to 30 this year, according to the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO).

Leyte Gov. Carlos Jericho Petilla has sought more aggressive preservation efforts of their memories for future generations.

The oldest living veteran is 101 from Burauen, Leyte, while the youngest is 93 from Hinunangan, Southern Leyte.

Although war veterans are receiving incentives and some of their children have claims against the US government, Petilla noted that the biggest incentive they could get is immortalizing them through their stories.

"We want them to tell their stories if they can because I think the most important thing in the commemoration is for them to be remembered," he said.

Petilla pushed for the institutionalization of the commemoration activities through digital means as part of tourism and educational programs.

"Tourism is about their stories being remembered. In Region 8, there is no proper museum so we are trying to make part of the old capitol a center for artifacts and a museum," he said.

“They are disappearing very fast. These are unusual times and their health is a big concern.”

"We should be focusing not only on the commemoration because commemoration is remembering, and remembering nowadays is not only in the form of actual commemoration but the more important is making it part of our history," Petilla added.

This year's Leyte Gulf Landings commemoration has the theme "Peace Eternal: Lesson Learned from the Vestiges of World War II.”

It commemorates the arrival of Allied forces led by Gen. Douglas MacArthur to liberate the Philippines from the Japanese Imperial Forces that occupied the country from 1942 to 1945.

Their arrival led to the Battle of Leyte Gulf, dubbed as the biggest naval battle in history with more than 200,000 combatants and hundreds of battleships that resulted in the defeat of Japanese forces in the Philippines.

Also present were in the event were Lt. Col. Tim Lopsik, assistant defense attache of the Embassy of Australia, and Minister Matsuda Kenichi, deputy chief of mission of the Japanese Embassy.