LINGAYEN, Pangasinan—World War II veterans are set to be honored on the 72nd Lingayen Gulf Landing and 10th Pangasinan Veterans Day commemoration today at the Veterans’ Memorial Park within the Capitol Complex here.
Governor Amado “Pogi” I. Espino III will lead the wreath-laying ceremony along with Dr. Vivencio Villaflor Jr., who is the guest of honor and speaker, and Philippine Veterans Affairs Office Administrator Ernesto Carolina, Philippine Veterans Federation Association president Bonifacio De Gracia, and Australian Embassy Counsellor Kerry Anderson.
An ASNA awardee and a son of a World War II veteran, Villaflor is currently the chairman of the Pangasinan Red Cross and the Dagupan Doctors Villaflor Memorial Hospital.
PVAO-Lingayen Field Office chief Romeo Madriaga expressed his gratitude to Rep. Amado T. Espino Jr. of the fifth district, who is also Pangasinan’s former fovernor, for institutionalizing the event for the unsung heroes, and Espino’s son—the incumbent governor—for carrying on the tradition.
“I was previously assigned to Region 3, But it is only here in Pangasinan that I have seen that support from the local government for our veterans aside from the national government,” Madriaga said.
Apart from cash incentives, war veterans in the province have enjoyed free medical services from the 14 provincial government hospitals.
Madriaga said that PVAO, the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office and the Provincial Health Office go as far as conducting house-to-house visits to war veterans just to hand them the cash incentives and do on-site checkups if they failed to come to the ceremony.
Following the ceremony, a luncheon and medical mission for the veterans will be held at Sison Auditorium. A navy ship collection exhibit donated by the Australian government will also be installed for viewing.
Madriaga said Pangasinan and Cebu had the most number of war veterans during the World War II.
Data shows that number of veterans is dwindling, from 499 in 2016 to just 370 as of this January.
During last year’s commemoration, Carolina had lauded Pangasinan as the “Philippine Cradle of Heroes.”
