NHCP MARKS DEATH MARCH MARKER IN BATAAN

MARIVELES, Bataan: The National Historical Commission of the Philippines ( NHCP) on Thursday approved and officially recognized the Zero Kilometer ( 00 Km) marker here as the site where the Death March on March 10, 1942 started. NHCP Deputy Commissioner Carminda Arevalo and Mayor Ace Jello Concepcion unveiled a new historical marker marked as “Pinagsimulan ng Death March.” The Death March Km 00 marker is one of 138 kilometer markers lining the national roads with 100 in Bataan, 31 in Pampanga and seven in Tarlac. More than 70,000 Filipino and American soldiers fighting in the province during World War II were rounded up after Bataan fell to the Japanese invaders on April 9, 1942 and forced to march the next day from Mariveles and Bagac towns to San Fernando in Pampanga where thousands died. After San Fernando, the prisoners again walked for more than six kilometers to Capas in Tarlac where thousands more died while in incarceration. Concepcion said residents of Mariveles and Bataan have long recognized the Zero Kilometer historical marker where the Death March started although the national government has not given it official recognition. He expressed appreciation to the NHCP for officially marking the site, which his father, former town Mayor Jesse Concepcion, worked hard for to seek the recognition from the national government. Concepcion said they are planning to build a war museum in the site.