MARCH 18 of every year is a non-working special holiday in the islands of Panay and Romblon, including the cities of Iloilo and Roxas, to commemorate the said islands’ liberation from Japanese forces.

The patriotism and gallantry of Filipino soldiers who teamed up with the Allied Forces during World War II liberated Panay and Romblon islands from the Japanese Imperial Army on March 18, 1945. 

The holiday declaration is stipulated in former President Corazon Aquino’s Proclamation No. 430 or “An Act Declaring March 18 of every year as Victory Day in the Islands of Panay and Romblon including the cities of Iloilo and Roxas” issued in 1989.

“March 18, 1945 is of great historical and sentimental significance to both the veterans and the people of Panay and Romblon because it was the day when the Panay Guerilla Forces launched the final assault on the Japanese Imperial Armed Forces,” the proclamation read.

A Panay Liberation Marker was also built in Tigbauan, Iloilo to memorialize the 1945 event.

General Douglas MacArthur, the commanding general of the Allied Forces in Pacific theater, paid tribute to the bravery of Panay guerillas in his declassified official report found in the Military Library and Museum at Sacramento, California:

“When the US 40th Division went ashore in March 1945, Colonel (Macario) Peralta’s forces made a large contribution toward eliminating the Japanese. Even before the landings, his guerillas has (sic) cleared the enemy from the outlying districts and had won possession of the nine airstrips in the northern and southern islands.”

Manrico Lataquin, vice president of the Philippine-American Veterans Association, describe the final battle of the liberation campaign, thus: 

“The final battle in the Liberation of Panay was a frontal fight between all the six combat teams of the 6th Military District positioned around Iloilo City and the whole Japanese forces who wanted to get out of the city to the mountains of Maasin, Leon and Alimodian.

The 66th Regiment blocking the main exit of the enemy at Sambag, Tacas and Balantang bore the brunt of the tsunamic force of the enemy. Both sides suffered heavy casualties. The timely arrival of the American carrier-based airplanes saved the guerilla forces from massacre. The victory was won but the loss of lives was great. Let us all come and give honor to our heroes.”

In her Administrative Order No. 102 issued July 30, 2004, President Gloria Arroyo recognized the Liberation of Panay and Romblon as one of the most important events in the Reconquest of the Philippines from the Japanese forces which began with the Leyte Landings.

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