60th anniversary of Leyte Gulf Landing marked

TACLOBAN CITY — President Arroyo will be the keynote speaker in the 60th anniversary commemorative rites of the Leyte Gulf Landing on Oct. 20 at the General MacArthur Landing Shrine in Barangay Baras, Palo, Leyte.

Leyte first district Rep. Remedios Petilla said Mrs. Arroyo will later proceed to Ormoc City where she is also the main speaker in the city’s Charter Day celebration.

During the Palo event, Mrs. Arroyo will be joined by 78 members of the diplomatic corps and the military attachés of the Allied Forces during World War II.

Some 300 war veterans from Leyte and 1,000 others from other parts of the Eastern Visayas will join the event, which caps the four-day commemoration starting today in Tacloban City and in the municipalities of Tolosa, Dulag and Palo.

Tourism Secretary Joseph "Ace" Durano, in a statement, expressed optimism that the commemoration of the Leyte Gulf Landing will be a meaningful one.

"This event comes at a time when the country suffers from an economic crisis. It presents a very good opportunity to remind every Filipino that in unity, there is hope for us to overcome any obstacle that may come our way," he said.

"Our history is also one of the things we take pride in whenever we talk about the Philippines abroad. Thus, it is only fitting that we do our best to keep it alive in the minds of the Filipino people, especially the younger generation," he added.

The Department of Tourism is one of the national government agencies that make up the World War II 60th Anniversary Organizing Committee chaired by Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo and co-chaired by Sen. Richard Gordon.

The Leyte Gulf Landing marked the beginning of the liberation of the Philippines from the hands of the Japanese. This historic event saw the landing on Oct. 20, 1944 of 738 ships of the Allied Forces at the Leyte beach and the fulfillment of the promise made by General Douglas MacArthur to return to the Philippines and lead in driving away the Japanese Imperial forces.