Lt. Col. Maximo Albinda, hero of the assault on Baksan Hill, Cebu City

Cebu is the birthplace of heroes. It defied foreign domination from the time of Magellan, Legazpi, and during the Japanese invasion. One of such heroes is Maximo Albinda, a recipient of the Gold Cross Medal with the following citation:

“Gold Cross Medal under GO No. 40 HPA 5 Feb 1947. On April 9, 1945, he took command of five companies and launched an assault against a well-entrenched enemy on Baksan Hill, Cebu City. His citation read: Disregarding safety, he personally led the first assault wave up the steep slopes in the face of heavy enemy fire. Bloody fighting became more intense as the assault reached a distance of 20 yards from the enemy lines and as the enemy started throwing deadly hand grenades. With the aid of artillery fire, Albinda and his men continued their assault until the enemy was forced to abandon the hill, leaving behind 52 enemy casualties. Albinda had greatly inspired his troops and spurred them to fight on until their mission was accomplished.”

Maximo Albinda had the rank of third lieutenant at the start of the war, then he was promoted to major and then to lieutenant colonel. He was part of the team during the battle of Balisong, Cebu City, in September 1943 with Capt. Acantilado and Col. James M. Cushing, resulting in 50 enemies killed. Only two guerillas were killed in the encounter.

When the Cebu Area Command was reorganized with Col. Cushing as commanding officer,Albinda was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel and designated as the commanding officer of the 86th Infantry Regiment. Colonel Manuel Segura, author of the books “Tabunan” and “The Koga Papers,” was designated as the adjutant general with the rank of major.

The fellow regimental commissioned officers of Albinda were Lt. Col. Rogaciano C. Espiritu (also a Gold Cross Medal awardee) of the 85th Infantry, Lt. Col. Abel Trazo of the 87th Infantry, and Lt. Col. Alejandro D. Almendras of the 88th Infantry, later to become governor of Davao and senator from 1959 to 1972.

He was the son of Paulo Almendras and Elisea Mercado Durano, who was the sister of the legendary political kingpin of Cebu, Ramon “Manoy Amon” Durano, who married Beatriz Duterte, daughter of Severo Buot Duterte, the brother of Facundo Buot Duterte, who was the father of Vicente Duterte, the father of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte.