GMA Brandtalk
Tracking
Archives
Memorial to Elpidio Quirino unveiled in Tokyo
A memorial to President Elpidio Quirino was unveiled in Tokyo on Saturday, June 18, in recognition of his work re-establishing diplomatic relations between the two countries after the war.
The monument is a granite slab that stands in Hibiya Park in Chiyoda ward, central Tokyo. According to news agency Japan Times, the marker is the first of its kind in Japan for a Philippine leader.
According to the Embassy of the Philippines in Japan, the inscription on the marker's plaque reads:
“His Excellency ELPIDIO R. QUIRINO (1890-1956), President of the Republic of the Philippines (1948-1953), granted pardon in June 1953 to all of the 105 Japanese War Criminals who were detained in Muntinlupa prison, despite the loss of his own wife and children during World War II. The National Appreciation Event was held at this site in gratitude for his decision, in July 1953.
“On the 60th anniversary of the normalization of Japan-Philippines diplomatic relations, and in this same year of the State Visit of Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress to the Philippines, this monument is erected at this site as a testament to the Japanese people’s appreciation and respect for President Quirino, and as a renewal of their commitment to the friendship between Japan and the Philippines, and to World Peace.”
The ceremony was attended by Filipino and Japanese officials as well as members of the Quirino family.
In July 1953, Quirino extended executive clemency to 114 Japanese war prisoners detained in the Philippines. Some days later, in a letter written while he was in Baltimore, Maryland for a medical procedure, Quirino explained his reason for pardoning the prisoners despite the fact that his wife and three of their children were brutally killed by Japanese soldiers in 1945 during the Battle of Manila:
“I am doing this because I do not want my children and my people to inherit from me hate for people who might yet be our friends for the permanent interest of the country. After all, destiny has made us neighbors,” he wrote.
— BM, GMA News
