Ilang beteranong sundalo, inalala ang kabayanihan ng mga sundalo na nagpapalaya sa Ilagan

Transcript

00:00In the city of Isabela, the soldiers of the Philippine Army fought for their country during the Second World War.

00:09Benji Durango has the details.

00:20The bullets went off by mistake.

00:22Fire! Fire!

00:27This was the start of the celebration of the 126th Independence Day in the city of Ilagan, Isabela.

00:34The Bolaclac Alliance followed Gat Jose Rizal's leadership in Rizal Park.

00:39Here, the contribution of the Marayag Brothers, Sinatabo and Juan, the natives, was also recognized.

00:45They used their weapons and swords to fight the Spaniards.

00:50How many other countries joined and fought for our country,

00:55but they were shown to resist and fight again and again,

01:03until they were finally recognized as a country that was not colonized.

01:08During the Japanese occupation, the Japanese Imperial Army became the stronghold of the city of Ilagan.

01:13They were only allowed to leave on December 1944 when the Filipino and American soldiers launched the Ilagan-Isabela Liberation Campaign.

01:21The left-behind battles were still fierce, like the Ilagan-Japanese War Tunnel, which is now part of Pasayalan.

01:27Colonel Marcelino Tacadena Jr. was a veteran of the battle in Cotabato.

01:31He served for 36 years before retiring in 2009.

01:35Every time he went down this tunnel, he remembered how hard it was to be a soldier.

01:41It was hard because of what our soldiers experienced,

01:46not only our soldiers, but also the civilians who were imprisoned here and tortured.

01:54We are now at the most difficult part of this Japanese tunnel.

01:59During the Japanese Imperial Army, it was believed that many Filipinos

02:04used force to dig this tunnel.

02:08However, many of these Filipinos did not obey the orders of the Japanese.

02:12It is said that their lives were lost here in this tunnel.

02:18This is a machine gun that was also used in this tunnel.

02:22It is different from the past memories of the war.

02:25The wounds that were left behind have healed.

02:27But the country is now facing new battles.

02:31We are entangled to a variety of issues that makes us wonder,

02:35are we really free?

02:37Courage and love for one's country is the key to victory in any battle.

02:44There is nationalism, but patriotism has a different meaning to us.

02:50If you say you are a Filipino, you are willing to die for your country.

02:56Nationalism means you are very proud to be a Filipino.

03:08The country is starting to take care of itself.

03:13There is one corner in the universe where we could be certain of improvement.

03:17It should emanate from the very person.

03:21Initial peace and prosperity comes from the very person.

03:25To maintain the freedom that was given to us by the heroes of the past.

03:31From the city of Ilagan, Benji Durango for Pambansang TV in Bagong, Philippines.