FAITH, hope, and love fortified the internees of the Santo Tomas Internment Camp through the hardships of World War II, said UST Secretary General Fr. Louie Coronel, O.P. on Thursday as Manila marked the 80th anniversary of the camp’s liberation.
In his homily during a Mass following a wreath-laying ceremony at the Plaza Mayor, Coronel said the three virtues — depicted by Francesco Monti’s iconic statues atop the UST Main Building — lived in the heart of the internees.
“Stripped of freedom and exposed to hunger, illness, and uncertainty, the internees clung to something greater than the walls that enclosed them,” he said. “Faith, hope, and love became their refuge, became their strength and guiding light.”
“Long before the Tria Haec monument […] these virtues were deeply embedded in the hearts of those who lived through the internment,” he added. “We Thomasians did not only speak about these virtues, we lived them — we are living them — and with unwavering resolve.”
Eighty years ago, United States forces liberated UST, which had been transformed into a 19.5-hectare walled camp where Japanese aggressors held 7,000 foreigners captive for 37 months from January 1942 to February 1945.
Internees suffered hunger and malnutrition, resulting in a death toll of 465.
Although UST had long moved past this dark chapter, Coronel urged Thomasians to continue being agents of liberation from modern injustices.
“We live in an era where captivity still exists, not in physical camps, but in the chains of injustice, poverty, hatred, and despair,” he said. “If we are truly to honor the past, we must become agents of liberation of our time.”
The wreath-laying ceremony commemorating the Feb. 3, 1945 liberation was attended by several government officials, including National Historical Commission of the Philippines Chair Regalado Trota Jose Jr., Philippine Veteran Affairs Office Administrator Reynaldo Mapagu, and US Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson.
In her speech, Carlson reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to freedom, justice, and human dignity.
“We pledge to continue working together as partners and allies to build a more peaceful and prosperous world for all,” she said.
“Let us never forget the lessons learned here. Let us always honor the memory of those who suffered and those who were lost. And let us always strive to build a world where such suffering is never again repeated.”
Jose, a former UST chief archivist, honored Captain Manuel Colayco, the UST faculty member and United States Army Forces member who guided the Allied Forces into the Santo Tomas Internment Camp.
He also called for the conservation of wartime artifacts and documents.
“If you go behind us you will see the bullet holes in the markers on the walls…Please do not repair those anymore, and [conserve] the rich trove of artifacts and documents, including menus, kept in both the archives and museum of this University,” he said.
The City of Manila was represented by Department of Tourism, Culture and Arts Director Charlie Dungo. During the last in-person commemoration of the liberation in 2022, then-Manila Mayor Isko Moreno and Vice Mayor Honey Lacuna offered a wreath.
Lacuna, now Manila mayor, attended Adamson University’s commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the Battle for Manila on Feb. 3.
