President Benigno Aquino III. Screengrab from RTVM Youtube
BATAAN, Philippines – President Benigno Aquino III honored war veterans during the 73rd commemoration of “Araw ng Kagitingan” (Bataan Day) at Mt. Samat Shrine in Pilar, Bataan, on Thursday.
Together with United States Ambassador Philip Goldberg and Japanese Ambassador Kazuhide Ishikawa, Aquino led the wreath-laying ceremony at the Colonnade area of the shrine.
BACKSTORY: Aquino to honor bravery of Filipino soldiers
Both Goldberg and Ishikawa will give their messages before the President’s speech.
“Bataan Day,” a national holiday, marks the fall of Bataan peninsula to Japanese forces during World War II.
The yearly commemoration of the 1942 event has been an opportunity for the three nations – the Philippines, US and Japan – to renew their pledge for peace. The Philippines and Japan are close allies of the US in Asia. CB
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