by Mike C. Villa-Real / First published on BusinessMirror May 15, 2025
We recently commemorated the “Araw ng Kagitingan” (Day of Valor) on April 9. Previously called the “Fall of Bataan,” it is the culminating event of Philippine Veterans Week, which was declared in 1989 to honor Filipino War Veterans on April 5 to April 11 every year.
While Philippine Veterans Week is a holiday commemorating World War II in the Philippines, not much has been written about this period of the tragedy and triumph of humanity. The war was felt in the country on December 8, 1941, when Japan bombed Camp John Hay in Baguio, Clark and other targets just hours after Pearl Harbor was attacked. By Christmas, the Japanese 14th Army landed on the La Union side of the Lingayen Gulf, historical records show. Meanwhile, the bombings continued well into the Yuletide season; and one can only imagine the apprehension gripping people during that period.
At that time, banks were already playing a major role in the Commonwealth—an unincorporated territory and commonwealth of the United States that existed from 1935 to 1946. As early the mid-thirties, the threat of war loomed and the authorities were preparing for that contingency.
In her book “Tradition of Excellence,” Maria Teresa Colayco wrote that when the War broke out, there were already 17 banks in the country: 11 domestic and six foreign.
On December 26, 1941, banks were ordered by US Government to turn over assets such as gold, valuables, bonds and securities; mostly collateral from clients. Just before New Year’s Day of 1942, these assets were on the way via submarine from Corregidor to the United States for safekeeping. The timing could not have been better because the Japanese Imperial Army marched into Manila on January 2, 1942.
At the onset, many Filipinos thought that the “emergency” would last only a few months and that US military might could easily deal with the invaders. Under “War Plan Orange,” MacArthur ordered Filipino troops to go to the Bataan Peninsula and defend it until reinforcements arrive. The “Boys in Bataan” heroically held their ground.
All the other territories in Southeast Asia had already capitulated by February 1942. The British Malaya (Malaysia), French Indochina (Vietnam) and the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia) have bowed to Japan’s unforeseen war-making capability.
Beyond human endurance, the Boys in Bataan defended the peninsula bravely until April 9, 1942, when they were ordered to surrender. That began what many consider to be the darkest chapter in Philippine history. There are more stories to be told about banks and currency during the Japanese Occupation, but I will save those for another day.
When the War ended on September 3, 1945, the herculean task of rebuilding the war-ravaged country came next and, with that, the rehabilitation of its economy. Soon, most of the assets safekept in the US were returned intact. However, because US law banned its re-export, the gold were held and sold to the US Mint, the proceeds of which were credited back to the owners.
What’s interesting to note was the extent of how the government officials and bankers worked together to protect the assets of the public. That primordial motivation continues to this day; perhaps even more so.
And this is one reason why banks remain as one of the safest means to protect your assets.
Miguel Angelo “Mike” C. Villa-Real is a past president of the Bank Marketing Association of the Philippines (BMAP) and is currently its director for Publicity. Villa-Real is also the head of Veterans Bank’s Marketing Communications and Consumer Protection Group. He can be reached at mcvillareal@veteransbank.com.ph.