The Book Of Yesterday | February 23
Passed The Law Mandating The Construction Of The National Monument By Andres Bonifacio
February 23, 1918
The big monument of the city of Caloocan in Metro Manila is the large monument of the Supreme of the Katipunan and father of the Filipino Revolution Andres Bonifacio. Today is 103 years since the Philippine Congress passed Act No. 2760. This is the law ordering the construction of a monument to be dedicated to the heroism of the heroic father of the revolution. Former Katipunero and Bonifacio's close friend Guillermo Masangkay proposed the law.
As with the Jose Rizal monument in Luneta, there was also a contest for choosing the best design of Bonifacio's monument. The design of sculptor and National Artist Guillermo Tolentino was chosen, which is said to look exactly like Bonifacio in his sculpture. He was even rumored to consult a spiritualist to talk to the soul of your alleged supreme. Tolentino, however, chose to design Bonifacio's monument, which features scenes from our country's history, from the martyrdom of Gomburza, to sculptures representing the plight of the Filipino masses under Spanish occupation, and in the middle is Bonifacio, wearing a Barong Tagalog and holding a revolver and mentally, and his young right-handed Emilio Jacinto.
The wife of the then President of the Senate Manuel Luis Quezon presided over the groundbreaking ceremony at the monument erection site, while Governor-General Frank Murphy presided over the inauguration of Bonifacio monument on October 23, 1933. May the monument of the supremo is 45 feet high, and at the height of the monument obelisk is a statue of a woman depicting our Motherland. On the pedestal of the monument is the big sun with eight rays, representing the eight provinces subject to Martial Law in August 1896.
Since then, Bonifacio's monument has witnessed historical events in our country, including the American-Japanese conflict in Metro Manila, and the gradual industrialization and modernization of the city of Caloocan.
General Tomoyuki Yamashita Of Japan Executed
February 23, 1946
At the age of 60, the so-called "Tiger of Malaya" General Tomoyuki Yamashita ended his life in the gallows inside the Los Baños Prison camp in Laguna. On this day in 1946, General Yamashita was sentenced to death by the United States military court, when he was found guilty of war crimes as responsible for the massacre of civilians in Manila during the American-Japanese conflict in the city. , and other crimes of Japanese soldiers in the Philippines. As the last Japanese Governor-General of the Philippines, Yamashita is said to be responsible for the sins of the Japanese army in our country under his leadership. Yamashita vehemently denied the accusations leveled against him by the court, but instead pointed to the Rear Admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy Sanji Iwabuchi who was responsible for the massacres of civilians in Manila. He also has no control over the soldiers who fought in Manila or, nor does he command the crimes committed by the Japanese in the country. His American lawyer also defended Yamashita. However, he was still sentenced to death for charges related to violating the law of war. Yamashita appealed his case to the Supreme Court of the Philippines and the United States, but it was President Harry S. Truman himself who dismissed his appeal. Even some American witnesses to Yamashita's trial questioned the progress of the general's case, and the unfair court hearing in defense, which violated the defendant's human rights.
After being hanged in Los Banos, he was buried in a Japanese cemetery in the town of Laguna, and was later transferred to a cemetery in Tokyo, Japan. Two years later, General Yamashita's chief-of-staff Akira Muto, along with former Japanese Prime Minister Hideki Tojo, was also hanged for war crimes.
General Tomoyuki Yamashita has been dubbed the "Tiger of Malaya" because of his strategic and rapid leadership in the conquest of the Southeast Asian region, including Malaysia and Singapore. There he subdued so many British soldiers defending their colony in the region. He was also appointed the fourth and last Japanese Governor-General of the Philippines from 1944 to 1945, and was also assigned to defend Luzon from American aggression. General Yamashita retreated to northern Luzon, and took refuge in the mountains of Ifugao. On September 3, 1945, a day after Japan surrendered in the war, Yamashita descended the mountain and formally surrendered to the Americans in Baguio City. It is now recognized in our country as a celebration of Philippine Victory Day.
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