Holy Angel University hosted the week-long International Conference on the 75th Anniversary of World War II in the Philippines which drew over 300 delegates, paper presenters and guest speakers.
The National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) and the Local History Committees Network (LHCN) convened the conference, whose theme was “Fighting for the Motherland: World War II and the Rise of the Resistance.”
In his welcome remarks, HAU President Dr. Luis Maria R. Calingo thanked the NHCP for choosing the University as conference venue. “Kapampangans initiated the largest resistance movement during the war, which is the Hukbalahap, and a Kapampangan from Macabebe is now recognized as the first Filipino to sacrifice his life in defense of freedom in 1571,” Dr. Calingo said.
NHCP Chairman Dr. Rene Escalante, Angeles City Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan, Pampanga Board Member Cherry Manalo, Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO) Administrator Lt. Gen. Ernesto Carolina, and LHCN President Dr. Emmanuel Calairo also spoke at the opening ceremonies of the conference held at the University Theatre.
War historian Dr. Ricardo Trota Jose gave the keynote address.
National Artist for Literature F. Sionil Jose, Clark Development Corporation Chairman Jose de Jesus, as well as diplomats from the embassies of the United States, China and Israel graced the opening ceremonies.
Paper presentations were held in both plenary and parallel sessions at the Peter G. Nepomuceno Building, while concurrent activities were held in other spots in the University, such as documentary film screening sponsored by Spyron-AV Manila, exhibit by the Philippine Veterans Bank, oral witnessing entitled “Kuwentong Bayani” by PVAO and Project Saysay, and colloquium by the UP History Department.
The NHCP also unveiled historical markers at the Pamintuan Mansion and the Holy Rosary parish church, and the descendants of war martyr Jose Abad Santos laid a wreath at the hero’s statue in front of the Museo ning Angeles.
Students and faculty from HAU and other schools in Central Luzon attended the paper presentations, whose speakers included historians Don Benito Legarda, Jr., Teresita Ang See, Helen Mendoza, Jose Victor Torres, Augusto de Viana, Ma. Luisa Camagay, Teresita Maceda, Cecilia Gaerlan, Jose Antonio Custodio and scholars from Hiroshima City University, Sophia University, Hitotsubashi University, Waseda University, UP Diliman, Ateneo de Manila, UST, DLSU, Silliman and many others.
Scholars from HAU and other local schools included Joel Regala, Francis Musni, Joel Mallari, Rhonie Cauguiran and Robert John Donesa.
The conference concluded with a three-province history tour starting at the Layac Monument in Dinalupihan, Bataan, which memorializes the first major battle in defense of Bataan; then the San Fernando Train Station where 60,000 survivors of the Death March were packed in trains that took them to Capas; then the Capas National Shrine in Tarlac where 30,000 Death March survivors died in a concentration camp; then the Bamban Museum where the guests were taken to an actual tunnel dug by the Japanese during the last days of the war; finally the Clark Museum which also contains war memorabilia.