Published April 9, 2021, 12:50 AM
On April 6, 1961 or exactly 60 years ago this week, Congress passed Republic Act 3022 that was signed into law by President Carlos P. Garcia “proclaiming the ninth day of April as Bataan Day and declaring it as a legal holiday.” The continuing observance of quarantine restrictions mutes anew this year’s observance. Yet the events that transpired on April 9, 1942 remain etched in the national memory.
A radio broadcast message, written by Captain Salvador P. Lopez (who became President of the University of the Philippines) was announced by Third Lieutenant Normando Ildefonso Reyes on the Voice of Freedom radio broadcast from the Malinta Tunnel in Corregidor island, across Bataan: “Bataan has fallen. The Philippine-American troops on this war-ravaged and bloodstained peninsula have laid down their arms. With heads bloody but unbowed, they have yielded to the superior force and numbers of the enemy.”
Dr. Jun Ynares
Today, the faithful will gather in limited numbers in certain Churches for the celebration of the Lord’s resurrection. Others will mark this important event in the Church’s calendar using the online platform. All of them will hear once again the timeless message of Easter Sunday.
That message is this: “Be not afraid.”
The words came from the very lips of the risen Christ. On Resurrection Sunday, the words were meant in particular for His disciples who visited his tomb and found it empty. Today, those words are meant for the world that is enveloped by fear – and for all of us who face an uncertain future, afraid and doubting.