TACLOBAN CITY, (PNA) — The city government here will mark the 69th anniversary of the Leyte Gulf landing with a sunset ceremony, 4:30 p.m. on October 19 at the Balyuan Amphitheater.
The ceremony, declared locally as the Tacloban City World War II Veterans Day through City Ordinance No. 2007-9-65, will honor the 20 living war veterans of the city.
OIC City Tourism Officer Ma. Lumen Tabao said the annual activity commemorates the gallantry of war veterans who fought during World War II. This year it will be highlighted by floral offerings and the distribution of certificates and gifts to the city’s surviving war heroes.
Mayor Alfred S. Romualdez will lead city local officials in honoring the war veterans during the two-hour late afternoon ceremony.
Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO) Administrator Retired Lt. General Ernesto G. Carolina is likewise expected to attend the ceremonies and will award a wheelchair to a veteran beneficiary.
Under the City Ordinance the family of a deceased World War II veteran is entitled to a burial assistance of P10,000. A deceased war veteran is also honored by flying at half mast the Philippine glag at the City Hall Building and other city government offices.
Tacloban figured prominently during World War II, being a major base for the US forces and the first town liberated from the Japanese Imperial Forces.
The city was for a time Capital of the Philippines and it was here where Gen. Douglas Macarthur delivered his famous “I have returned” speech.