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Philstar.com
February 28, 2026 | 5:23pm
The Capas National Shrine stands at the former prisoners of war concentration camp in Tarlac.
MARIVELES, Bataan — A two-day memorial march honoring the bravery and unyielding spirit of Filipino and American heroes who walked the infamous Bataan Death March started here on Saturday, February 28.
Traversing the actual route taken by Allied soldiers in the forced march to a prisoners’ concentration camp, “Freedom March” will start at Kilometer Zero in this town and end at the Capas National Shrine in Tarlac.
The annual commemorative event is organized by the Philippine Veterans Bank (PVB) in partnership with Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO), the Department of National Defense (DND) and the local governments of Bataan, Pampanga and Tarlac.
Calling on the general public to join the march, organizers said the event “isn’t a march of sorrow, but a walk of remembrance and deep national pride.”
“It’s our turn to walk a path inspired by their sacrifice, ensuring their legacy of bravery and resilience echoes through generations,” organizers said.
This year’s “Freedom March” is scheduled with 10 stops to allow participants to retrace the original route, as well as set their own walking pace.
From Kilometer 0 in Mariveles, it would pause at Km 10 along the Roman Highway; Km 20 near the Mariveles welcome arch; Km 30 beside Putting Buhangin Elementary School; and Km. 44 at the Balanga Capitol Building.
From there, it would stop by Km 50 at the Abucay Municipal Hall; Km 60 beside the Sarmineto-Cruz residence; Km 68 at the First Line of Defense in Dinalupihan; Km 80 along the National Highway in Lubao, Pampanga; Km 90 in Guagua; and finally at Km 102 at the San Fernando Capitol Building, before proceeding to the Capas National Shrine.
The Bataan Death March is described as the forcible transfer by the Imperial Japanese Army of around 72,000 to 78,000 Filipino and American prisoners of war (POWs) from the Bataan Peninsula after the three-month Battle of Bataan during World War II.
The forced march began on April 9, 1942, and took the POWs through a 105-kilometer route to the concentration camp at Camp O’Donnell in Capas, Tarlac, taking its toll on men already weakened by months of hunger and diseases.
Various reports placed the casualties of the forced march that was characterized by physical abuse and wanton killings at from 5,000 to 18,000 deaths.
Among the notable survivors of the Bataan Death March are: Ramon Bagatsing Sr., who served as Manila mayor from 1971 to 1986; Jose B. Lingad, who was governor of Pampanga from 1948 to 1951 and represented Pampanga’s 1st Congressional District from 1969 to 1972; Biographer and historian Carlos Felix L. Quirino, who wrote the Jose Rizal biography “The Great Malayan”; Jesus Cruz Azurin, who was Minister of Health from 1981 to 1986; Manuel Yan, Sr., AFP Chief of Staff from 1968 to 1972; and actor and film director Fernando Poe, Sr., who served as 1st Lieutenant under the Reserve Officers corps during the war.
April 9 is celebrated in the Philippines as “Araw ng Kagitingan” (Day of Valor) in honor of the soldiers who defended the country and made their last stand in Bataan.
Camp O’Donnell, now a Philippine Army base, meanwhile houses the “Pambansang Dambana ng Capas” (Capas National Shrine), which was built as a memorial to Allied soldiers buried therein at the end of the Bataan Death March. (30)
