Feb. 27 Woud Be An Annual Memorial Day To Honor War Hero Ruperto Kangleon

May 17,2011

February 27 Would Be An Annual Memorial Day To Honor War Hero Ruperto Kangleon

By Quirico M. Gorpido,Jr

Maasin City, Southern Leyte-The Sangguniang Panlalawigan has approved the persistent requests of the Federation of Senior Citizens and World War 2 Veterans and Guerillas here thru their respective resolutions submitted to the Provincial Board last February 2011 to make yearly February 27 as Ruperto Kangleon Memnorial Day throughout the province of Southern Leyte, which was the date when the late War Hero died.

Kangleon who hails from Macrohon town which is about 15 kilometers away from Maasin city proper is not only a local war hero but also a national hero of significant prominence. He was a Guerilla Commander in the whole island of Leyte during the World War 2 when he was a soldier.

Information gathered also disclosed that he was in constant clandestine contact with General Douglas MacArthur who was in Australia for logistics and ammunition support for the Guerillas in the entire island of Leyte. The armed support from the American General Commander of the Pacific were coursed and secretly delivered to the Guerillas via Submarine called M/V Nautilus that landed near the sea facing Hinunangan.

Fierce fighting between the Japanese Imperial army and the combined forces of Americans and Filipinos have occurred in various areas of Leyte, of which at that time, it was not yet divided by boundaries of the current two provinces of Leyte Province and the Province of Southern Leyte.

When Douglas MacArthur arrived in Leyte with fleet of battle ships in fulfillment of his promise, “I Shall Return”, the late Col. Ruperto Kangleon was there welcoming him. On that memorable day, the arriving American General Commander pinned on him the Distinguished Service Cross by the United States of America.

The American soldiers arrived in Dulag and Palo via barges and pettiboats after American battle ships from afar cleared the area by the continual bombardment of cannons and dropping of bombs from fighter planes.

According to additional information being gathered, the late Ruperto Kadava Kangelon is not only a national hero but also recognized and respected war hero of international scale.

Kangleon also gave honor and prestige to the Southern Leyteños as the first and only Southern Leyteño Senator. He was later appointed by President Rojas as the Secretary of National Defense during his active career in the Government Service.

His incorruptible reputation and good records as public servant is widely known in the country. It is also important, it was said, for the younger generations of Southern Leyteños to know and be reminded of the exemplary achievements of the late Ruperto Kadava Kangleon (1890-1958)as an outstanding military officer and World War 2 Guerilla Commander in the entire Leyte Island who is worthy of emulation by all.

The heroic war exploits of Southern Leyteño war hero, including that of the Guerillas during the war have greatly contributed much to the victory of the war against the foreign invasion. And the said exploits serve as the gratitude of all Southern Leyteños in particular and in the country in general.

Lourdes Bantug, Governor Damian Mercado’s Office Secretary informed that Mercado had already signed the SP resolution approving the 2 ordinances endorsed by the abovementioned organizations. Letters of communication were already sent to all Chief Executives of the one city and 18 municipalities, including all public and private schools in the entire province.

Recommendation

Furthermore, some concerned citizens recommended that DepEd should require students in both private and public schools in all levels-elementary, high school and colleges as part of their reading materials the 2 books written about the late war hero Ruperto Kangeon.The books that tackled about the life of RKK as a citizen, a soldier and as a public servant who showed to the world the love of one’s country and God need to be reinforced in the minds and hearts of our present generations of Filipinos.

The two books entitled “Love Of Country(Saga of Ruperto K. Kangleon and the Leyte Guerillas) by Atty.Joaquin G. Chung,Jr.,copyright 1989 and “The Soldier and Statesman” by Alfonso J. Aluit,copyright 2001, are worthy references and reading books on excellent soldiery and statesmanship that every student,professor,researcher,writer,anthropologist and avid reader should include in their reading.

Our youth, they averred, need good leaders to look up to whose characters and deeds are worthy of emulation.

W have been taught from time and again while in school about the lives of Jose Rizal, Emilio Aguinaldo, Andres Bonifacio,Apolinario Mabini,the sublime paralytic)Marcelo Lopez Jaena,etc.But a only little of Lapulapu of Mactan Island.

Now is the time to consider other heroes that we have in the past but still remain unknown because no-one or no writer/writers have ever written about their lives. Writers and researches should start now their literary journey which is the gathering of the vast field of untapped valuable materials about our silent heroes in the country. They are not only in Luzon area, but also in the Visayas and Mindanao regions.

Good Models

Our young and younger generations of Filipinos need good models of leadership because they are the ones who will replace the old ones when they have departed from this life. The past heroes we have learned in schools are not sufficient models to the present batch of the younger generations of Filipinos. They need other heroes to look up to as source of inspiration, courage and honesty. The search for heroes in various fields of endeavor who will serve as models for our youth should not be confined only in Luzon area alone. The search for heroes by our writers, scholars and researchers as sources of materials in writing books about their lives should not imposed delineations of ragionalistic boundaries. But rather be made encompassing down to the nooks and crannies of the entire country, Irrespective of their regional languages and classifications.

If a hero’s life is colored with good acts and deeds like honesty,compassion,generosity,hard work, courage and dedication to his/her calling then his/hers is a good material for writing a book for the young and the old readers alike. Thus the two books regarding RKK”s life as a soldier and statesman should be mass produced with permission from the authors. These are for distributions/acquisitions to all public and private schools throughout the country.

These 2 books should also be made available nationwide in bookstores in all cities of every province so that readers, students, teachers and professors can buy them for reading and as reference books.(Quirico M. Gorpido,Jr.)