MANILA, Philippines – Tucked in a quiet corner inside the walled city of Intramuros is the Memorare Manila 1945, a monument that honors the 100,000 non-combatant civilians killed during the month-long Battle of Manila to liberate the capital from Imperial Japan.
On some afternoons, the monument turns into a playground, with local children using it as a base for games of hide and seek. On days that are less kind, the memorial seems long forgotten and trash surrounds the tragic figure of a weeping woman surrounded by 6 other suffering figures
It is easy to remember the honor and valor of those who fought for freedom.
It is much harder to expound on the destruction that shadowed liberation — the Pearl of the Orient’s capital lay in ruin after a battle often referred to as “the Stalingrad of Asia.”
“In the end, Manila would be free but unrecognizable,” said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on February 22, in an event to commemorate the 80th anniversary of that battle at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in Taguig City.
It was Marcos, son and namesake of a dictator who would dominate the Philippines decades after the Battle of Manila, that was the first during the event to emphasize the suffering that was borne by the innocent.
The stories and scars both Filipino and Americans bear resonate today.
“The Philippines, deeply familiar with the atrocities brought about by war between and among nations, has always chosen the path of peace, and I can assure all of you that we will continue to do so,” said Marcos in his speech.
“Through diplomacy, dialogue, and cooperation, we have successfully maintained a region that is peaceful, stable, and prosperous. We have and will continue to work with partners and the international community in building bridges, forging solutions, preserving our global commons,” added the Philippine President.
Marcos’ words hit hard, especially as the Philippines finds itself in the middle of a region both overflowing with a potential of growth and the threat of conflict.
The world has changed a lot since 1945, of course.
A new world order
“In one generation, the security landscape in this region has undergone a dramatic transformation. The United States, the Philippines, and Japan now stand as partners—demonstrating that yesterday’s barriers can be overcome in the spirit of friendship and cooperation,” said US Ambassador to Manila MaryKay Carlson.
It’s a trilateral relationship that is seen as pivotal in the region because of a China that’s been growing its influence while overstepping its reach through territorial claims and expansion in the waters and borders of its neighbors.
Japan, which just eight decades ago was the aggressor, has turned into a regional leader. In the early months of the second Trump administration, Japanese leaders have gone out of their way to emphasize the importance of the trilateral relationship.
Japan’s foreign affairs and defense ministers have paid separate visits to Manila — just six weeks apart.
In both visits, there was emphasis on the “increasingly severe strategic environment” (according to Japan Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi) and how “the security environment surrounding us is becoming increasingly severe” (according to Japan Defense Minister Nakatani Gen).
Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, Jr., in his February 24 meeting with Nakatani, emphasized the importance of the Philippine-Japan partnership “against unilateral attempts by China and other countries to change the international order and the narrative.”
Teodoro has been among the most vocal in calling China out for its doublespeak — particularly when it cries foul over the United States’ deployment of the typhon missile system to the Philippines.
Philippine Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo made a splash at the Munich Security Conference when he called Beijing out for its deployment of vessels in Ayungin (Second Thomas Shoal).
And in the United Kingdom, Manalo denied China’s claim that Manila had “promised” that the missile system would be pulled out after war games with the US. He then told the Chinese diplomat who asked the question: “I don’t know which country has more missiles, China or the Philippines.” (Spoiler alert: It’s definitely China.)
This is not to say that conflict is imminent. Nor is it inevitable. To simplify tensions in the West Philippine Sea as a choice between warring with or kowtowing to China is a false dichotomy straight out of Beijing’s playbook, as Rappler editor-at-large Marites Vitug has earlier pointed out.
There’s a (West Philippine) sea of options in between — from bringing a new case to court, exposing China’s actions at sea, modernizing the Philippines’ maritime prowess and capacity, and, of course, the hard and unglamorous work of diplomacy.
A new new world order?
Now, back to the US Embassy-hosted event at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial.
In his speech, Marcos made it a point to emphasize the Philippine-US bilateral relationship. “In a world where the only thing that appears to be constant is change, we are thus gratified by our enduring alliance, our partnership, and friendship with the United States, especially towards advancing our common agenda of peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific,” he said.
But headline after headline, the US is looking less and less like a force of stability in the world. Ukraine and the European Union were left out of a US-Russia negotiation on the war in Ukraine.
“France’s position and Europe’s position has been constant. We consider that Ukraine, as a sovereign country, should be part of the discussions. And Europe should also be part of the discussions on security in Europe,” said French Ambassador to Manila Marie Fontanel on February 23, aboard the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle.
“As long as countries start to have a new approach on territorial disputes, preferring to use the force over the law, we might have a strong problem – not only in the case of Ukraine, but also in other parts of the world,” she added.
The US has doubled down on rhetoric supporting the Philippines, most recently after the Chinese Navy’s helicopter flew dangerously close to a Philippine fisheries ship over Scarborough Shoal.
Manila has also since confirmed that the US has waived the freezing of foreign military financing for the Philippines.
“Both countries are committed to the treaty alliance and to efforts to further strengthen our defense cooperation and interoperability. We will continue to engage the US government on the importance of our bilateral work in supporting our shared goals and priorities,” Philippine Foreign affairs spokesperson Teresita Daza said on Monday, February 24.
But it will be difficult to imagine a robust bilateral relationship when other critical projects funded by the US — health and education, especially — are left hanging. In the Philippines, organizations hit by the freeze in aid spending have had to close their doors — whether temporarily or for good, nobody can really say for now.
The tempest within
American Battle Monuments Commission Secretary Charles Djou, a holdover from the Biden administration, seemed to speak of a US from the past (a months-old past, that is), in his speech during the 80th anniversary of the battle.
“So I remind all of you, all Filipinos, all Americans… but most especially of all, all authoritarians here in this world – whether they be in Beijing or Moscow, whether they be in Pyongyang or Tehran.”
“The most powerful weapons system known to mankind was, is, and shall forever be not the Shandong aircraft carrier patrolling the South China Sea, it is not the ability to build artificial islands in Filipino waters, it is not the ability to spurt around a belt and road initiative. The most important weapons system known to mankind is a free people willing to fight for freedom. This is what this site is all about, and what this ceremony is all about,” he said.
The last week of February this year feels like the proverbial calm before the storm — of an outside world that’s changing rapidly before our very eyes, a powerful neighbor that’s become eerily silent, the anniversary of a revolution Marcos has tried to learn to ignore, and domestic politics that’s only bound to turn messier and dirtier the closer we get to May 12.
When I think about Philippine history and about how we tend to vacillate between learning from our wins and gains to pretending like there was nothing to learn from at all, I often go back to the inscription of the Memorare Manila 1945, penned by the late National Artist for Literature Nick Joaquin.
“This memorial is dedicated to all those innocent victims of war, many of whom went nameless and unknown to a common grave, or never even knew a grave at all, their bodies having been consumed by fire or crushed to dust beneath the rubble of ruins.”
“We have never forgotten them. Nor shall we ever forget. May they rest in peace as part now of the sacred ground of this city: The Manila of our affections.” – Rappler.com