ALEXANDRA Trese, the Philippine moon goddess Mayari, and characters from Rizalian novels, among others, appeared at the 7th Cosplay Carnival (the first in this year’s “Seasons of Cosplay” series). The ancient Visayan goddess Magwayen (cosplayed by Francheska Marie M. Rosales) was there, too, amid the Cosplay Group Battle, Frenemy Feud, and Cosplay Auction. While Doña Victorina (cosplayed by Jacynth Emillou M. San Juan) basked in the warmth of “Spring Serenade” at the SMX convention center, she also observed: “that we need to provide greater support to the Filipino creatives and give Filipino media the Western or East Asian treatment.”
Captain America also made an appearance, yet there should have been more World War II characters, right? On the heels of Cosplay Carnival 2025, Filipinos observed the 80th anniversary of the successful Allied Landing in Talisay. Such milestone is covered by Republic Act No. 10359, c. 2013: “March 26 of every year is hereby declared as a special working public holiday not only in the City of Talisay, by virtue of Republic Act No. 7280, but also in the entire Province of Cebu to commemorate the historic liberation of Cebu from the Japanese occupation during World War II.”
Combat, not cosplay: “Early on 26 March, following a devastating naval pounding, the American Division (less the 164th Regimental Combat Team) under Maj. Gen. William H. Arnold, swept ashore near Talisay, five miles southwest of Cebu City…The 182nd Regimental Combat Team, which landed nearest Talisay, rapidly breached the mine and barrier defenses…With the assistance of guerrillas, Buhisan Reservoir was seized and the city of Cebu was entered the day following the landing. After almost completely destroying the city, the main Japanese forces had withdrawn to positions in the hills overlooking Cebu…Lahug Airport was attacked and quickly seized on 28 March and nearby Mactan Island was taken without opposition the same day.” [The Reports of General MacArthur: the campaigns of MacArthur in the pacific. Volume 1. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Army, 1966, p. 344]
What else? It was still WW2 when the American First Lady reported: “I was shocked to read in the papers yesterday morning that since 1940, there has been a rise in the number of deaths from cancer. I had thought that we were making progress in the control of this dread disease. A letter to me the other day begged that a concerted effort be made for research that will finally discover its cause. Unfortunately, the causes are not always so easy to find, no matter how much money you put into a scientific research project. The control of cancer, I gather, is largely in the hands of the public itself. If they can overcome their fear and watch for the very first signs, often a case can be completely cured. It is when people try to fool themselves into thinking that all goes well, and that there is really nothing the matter, that conditions become so bad nothing can be done.”[Eleanor Roosevelt, “My Day, March 26, 1945,” The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Digital Edition (2017), accessed 3/26/2025, https://www2.gwu.edu/~erpapers/myday/displaydoc.cfm?_y=1945&_f=md057059]
Eight decades later, the cure for cancer remains elusive, as bureaucratic and political scuffles compete for attention. Even as the Department of Health has recorded a total of 55 deaths nationwide due to rabies (from January 1 to March 1, 2025) and expects a surge in dengue cases this year based on the usual cycle of the disease in the country, the Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance executive director Dr. Ulysses Dorotheo criticized Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa for fraternizing with the top brass of a tobacco company during a recent event in Malacañang.
[https://malaya.com.ph/news/national-news/health-secretarys-resignation-sought-over-engagement-with-tobacco-execs/]
[https://malaya.com.ph/news/national-news/seatca-head-slams-health-chief-for-photo-op-with-tobacco-execs/]
Meanwhile, in the capital of the world’s superpower, “the Food and Drug Administration approved the first blood test for people at average risk for colon cancer.”
[https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/2025/03/presidential-message-on-colorectal-cancer-awareness-month-2025/]
In addition, the Trump Administration imposed ad valorem tariffs on articles that are products of China. [https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/further-amendment-to-duties-addressing-the-synthetic-opioid-supply-chain-in-the-peoples-republic-of-china/]
Tariffs? Also a wartime topic 80 years prior: “By reducing our own tariff in conjunction with the reduction by other countries of their trade barriers, we create jobs, get more for our money and improve the standard of living of every American consumer.” [Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States, Message To Congress On Tariffs, Washington, D.C., March 26, 1945]
The original United Nations was then preparing for peace and prosperity, although the struggle against Hitlerism and emperor worship (tennōsei fashizumu) was expanding: “new aggressions on the part of Japan against any American nation are not impossible.” [Argentina’s Message To The Pan American Union On Its Declaration Of War Against Japan And Germany, March 28, 1945]
These wartime lessons are to be kept in mind by the Filipinos, thus, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. in welcoming Ambassadors Edgar Rodrigo Rojas Garavito of Colombia, Sin Saream of Cambodia, and Yuliia Oleksandrivna Fediv of Ukraine to the Philippines, expressed his optimism for achieving lasting peace and prosperity.
[https://pco.gov.ph/news_releases/pbbm-optimistic-about-stronger-ties-with-colombia-cambodia-and-ukraine/]
Moreover, the Philippines and Canada have set for signing the proposed Status of Visiting Forces Agreement and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority said a number of multinational companies with operations in China have transferred to, or are planning to expand their operations in the Philippines.
[https://malaya.com.ph/business/business-news/amid-the-current-wave-of-us-china-trade-war-migration-more-foreign-manufacturers-moving-out-of-china-eye-ph-peza/]
[https://www.dnd.gov.ph/Release/2025-03-07/2337/Philippines,-Canada-conclude-SOVFA-negotiations,-set-for-signing]
Is this progress in the continuing crusade against Hitlerism, Han chauvinism and bureaucratism?
