Officials and veterans marked the 80th anniversary of Muntinlupa’s liberation from Japanese occupation during World War II on Feb. 4.
Mayor Ruffy Biazon led the ceremony at the Liwasan ng mga Bayani in Alabang together with Rep. Jaime Fresnedi, OIC-President Eulogio Catabran III of the Philippine Veterans Bank, historian Dr. Ricardo Jose, retired Lt. Col. Jovencio Penamante and retired Col. Julio Arciaga.
Muntinlupa was liberated from Japanese occupation on Feb. 4, 1945.
Muntinlupa Mayor Ruffy Biazon and Rep. Jaime Fresnedi lead the ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of Muntinlupa's liberation from Japanese occupation on Feb. 4 (Photos from Muntinlupa PIO)
Republic Act 9378 was passed into law “declaring the fourth day of February of every year as a special working holiday in the City of Muntinlupa to be known as ‘Araw ng Kalayaan ng Muntinlupa.’"
According to the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO), Filipino guerrillas and the Allied Forces led in liberating Muntinlupa.
On the day that Muntinlupa was liberated, according to the PVAO website, “more than one thousand prisoners of war (POW) were also freed from the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa which was utilized by the Japanese Kempeitai as a POW Camp, hospital, and transit center for POWs being transferred to other locations.”
“The Hunters ROTC 47th Division Kanduli Unit of Muntinlupa received a message from the General Headquarters that American units were arriving soon. They were ordered to guard the area and ring around the Japanese within their jurisdiction. Captain 12 Pares (Baldomero Viñalon) ordered his men to split up and proceed to Muntinlupa to take care of the remaining Japanese in the area. In this operation, his guerilla unit killed about 45 Japanese. By the time when the 11th Airborne arrived in Muntinlupa, everything was already under control,” according to PVAO.
It added, “After the fall of Bataan in 1942, the prisoners of Corregidor were taken to Manila on May 24, 1942. The Americans were brought to Paranaque and the Filipinos at Manila Harbor. They were forced to march to Old Bilibid Prison. While the 1st Cavalry Division made its drive to Manila, the 37th Division’s 148th Infantry Regiment was also making its way to Manila on the Cavalry’s right flank. During their push into the city on 5 February 1945, they came across the Old Bilibid Prison and liberated a few hundred USAFFE veterans and the internees that had been moved from Camp Holmes, Baguio just a few months before.”
The Liwasan ng mga Bayani also has a marker about the liberation of Muntinlupa.
The 80th anniversary celebration of Muntinlupa's liberation from Japanese occupation on Feb. 4 (Photos from Muntinlupa PIO)