21 October 1994

 

                                            An American Affair?

 

        The commemoration of Gen. Douglas MacArthur's landing in Leyte has evoked the criticism that what happened in Leyte was purely an American affair and therefore does not really concern us Filipinos at all.

       The persons in charge of the celebration have rejected the criticism. They note the return of our government-in-exile; they remind us that Filipino guerillas played a major role in securing the beaches for the landing;  they also point to the significance of the Battle of Leyte Gulf.

       While these arguments may refute the contention that Leyte was an American show from start to finish, we should not ignore the criticism. Rather, we should ask why many thoughtful Filipinos do not view the Leyte landing as part of our history -- at least, not in the same way that they regard the defeats at Bataan and Corregidor.

       We surmise that the major reason is the failure of our own leaders to define the Leyte landing as a milestone in the road the Philippines took toward nationhood and independence. Whenever our leaders speak at occasions like Independence Day, they invoke the martyrdom of Rizal, the revolt of the Katipunan, the gallant struggle at Bataan, the miracle at EDSA... but they say absolutely nothing about the landing at Leyte.

       Even today, as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of that event, we think of General MacArthur as the hero; we regard the landing as his fulfillment of the promise, ``I shall return.” Leyte is General MacArthur's achievement throughout -- so much so that it never occurs to us to think of the Leyte landing as the return of President Sergio Osmeña to the Philippines.

       This is not surprising. After all, the bulk of what we know about the landing at Leyte comes from American sources, which hardly touch on the role of Filipinos at Leyte or the impact of the Leyte landing on Philippine history.

       This is not to accuse American historians of an anti-Filipino bias. If at all, we would simply observe that they had an institutional bias.

       For instance, Samuel Eliot Morison, who wrote a 14-volume history of US naval operations in World War II, describes the Battle of Leyte Gulf in detail, but he says little about the US Army's difficulties in beating the Japanese on land.

       We can expect Mr. Morison to tell us even less about the guerilla warfare the Filipinos conducted before the landing and what they did afterwards in support of the American troops. We should not expect him to tell us anything about what went on in the minds of persons like President Osmeña, Brig. Gen. Carlos P. Romulo, or Lt. Col. Ruperto Kangleon.

       Our own Filipino historians should be the ones to tell us these things and explain them to us. But they do not. Because they have not, many of us are not even aware of the role that Filipinos played in the Leyte landing. As a result of our ignorance, we do not see how the landing at Leyte is linked to what we are today and how we regard ourselves today.... It does not even occur to us to look for a linkage.

       The landing at Leyte is so disconnected from our history that our tourism officials saw nothing wrong about commemorating the landing at Leyte in such a way as to attract more American tourists. Precisely because the commemoration of the Leyte landing is geared to separating the tourist from his money, we should expect an American-centered pseudo-event.

       And if Japanese can be bamboozled into attending, so much the better money-wise. Our tourism people will plan the celebration in such a way that the Japanese won't be offended.

       If the people of Leyte are offended by the violence done to their history, that's no problem. Our tourism people will comfort them by giving them part of the tourist dollars.