ARAW ng Kagitingan cannot be commemorated without dealing with the huge blunder of Gen. Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander of the Allied forces in the Pacific. The Western narrative has idolized him as the great liberator of the Philippines; before that, he left the beleaguered Philippine and American forces that led to the fall of Bataan.
On his departure for Australia after Washington failed to send reinforcements to Luzon, MacArthur uttered the historic pledge “I shall return” to Filipinos facing brutal Japanese subjugation, death and atrocities. Does anyone recall a military manual wherein a military commander leaves his troops in the thick of battle?
‘He returned four years later, fulfilling his promise amid the unspeakable ordeal of slaughter and destruction for 250,000 Filipinos caught in the Battle of Manila.’
He appointed his deputy, Lt. Gen. Jonathan Wainwright, as commander of the Allied forces in the Philippines, and ordered him not to surrender Bataan to the more superior Japanese forces. Wainwright, of course, surrendered only after a few weeks, fearing the slaughter of some 75,000 Filipinos and Americans, a harrowing prospect that did not seem to bother MacArthur.
He returned four years later, fulfilling his promise amid the unspeakable ordeal of slaughter and destruction for 250,000 Filipinos caught in the Battle of Manila.
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Many people find it difficult to imbibe the essence of Christ’s Resurrection which is not just an Easter message but a renewed call to arms in the spiritual warfare today. Those who have genuinely accepted the historical and spiritual truth of the Resurrection still fail to embrace its power and its accompanying experiences which are often overshadowed by theology and rituals.
There are, of course, compelling holiday distractions that draw innumerable Filipinos during the Holy Week from cultivating and nurturing such exceptional spiritual power that should otherwise render us free from sin, sickness, pain, depression, and anger, as well as from poverty, despair and failures. This is an amazing truth we find in Romans 8:13, among 7,000 promises in the Bible for our well-being, safety, good health, healing, protection, success and prosperity. “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”
David Hogan, given to drugs, gambling and alcohol as he rebelled against his parents and their Christian church whose members he called “hypocrites.” was on a business flight to an oil field in Australia. Three years ago, his life suddenly turned around after, as he claimed, the Lord spoke directly to him on the plane telling him to leave that church and put up another one. He found himself kneeling on the aisle of the plane, finally surrendering his life to Jesus Christ.
Hogan returned immediately to his hometown in Louisiana to organize and pastor a small church that would expand and be known as the Freedom Ministries. The Lord would then command him to preach the Gospel in the mountains and jungles of Mexico notorious for witchcraft and sorcery. Two sons of a prominent witch began attending his preachings and soon became Born-Again Christians.
This enraged the sorcerer and confronted Hogan, intensely cursing Hogan and God to his face. He suddenly collapsed and died. After overcoming their shock, the two sons started praying for their father to come alive again. After four hours, the witch remained lifeless as one son continued to pray fervently. On the fifth hour, the witch started breathing and slowly stood up. His life as a witch has ended and he eventually became a pastor.
