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Heroes de Kagay-an:
Maj. Jose Manuel Corrales Montalvan, 1st Camp Commander of the ‘Kampo’ his induction into the U.S. Army Forces – Far East (USAFFE) on Few Kagay-anons today College, Manila with September 6, 1941, he are aware that the first a degree of Doctor in was appointed Division camp commander of Dental Surgery (DDS). Finance Officer and the Philippine Army’s Upon his return to his Division Quartermaster biggest military camp in hometown in 1928, he of the USAFEE’s 102nd Mindanao was a Lumad practiced dentistry and Division. Later, he was (native Kagay-anon). became one of the first appointed Division InMajor Jose Manuel Cor- teachers of the Ateneo rales Montalvan was ini- de Cagayan (present day spector General, 102nd Division, USAFFE, with tially assigned as Cadre Xavier University) and Commander of the was its Commandant of Headquarters at Tankulan, Manolo Fortich, 2nd Misamis Oriental the Corps of Cadets. Bukidnon then promot(Machine Gun) Cadre Dr. Montalvan was ed to Captain, Infantry, at Camp Bulua (prescommissioned a first in April, 1942. ent day Camp Edilberto lieutenant in the U.S. Following the surEvangelista, home base Army Reserve in 1928 render of the USAFFE of the Philippine Army’s and was trained and forces in Mindanao 4th Infantry Division) in successfully completed under Gen. William Cagayan de Oro, a post the U.S. Army ExtenSharp to the Japanese he served in from Janu- sion Courses. From ary 1-Dec. 31, 1939. 1933 to 1937 he was the Imperial Army on May 10, 1942, Dr. Montalvan When the camp was instructor for Military was taken as a prisonerrenamed Camp EvanScience and Tactics at gelista, Mr. Montalvan the Ateneo de Cagayan. of-war (POW) by the Japanese and detained at was appointed its Camp However, the lure of a the Ateneo de Cagayan Commander and Mobi- full-time career in the lization Center Officer newly formed Philippine campus which had been on January 1, 1940, a Army proved irresistible converted into a POW Camp. post he served up to the and he resigned from “During his captivity outbreak of World War the U.S. Army Reserve he developed polyneuII. and was commissioned ritis, which caused his Dr. Montalvan, who as a First Lieutenant, was also known as Ñor Infantry Reserve, of the leg to become shorter, Peping, was born in Philippine Army on July as a result of the hard labor he underwent in present day Cagayan 16, 1936. He was called de Oro (then known as to active duty training at prison when he and Cagayan de Misamis, Camp Murphy Training others would carry sacks capital town of the SeSchool for Reserve Offi- of potatoes and coffee gundo Distrito de Misa- cers (Infantry), assigned under the rain, soaking their only clothing mis) on March 17, 1903 as Company Comin their bodies,” recalls to Jose Gabriel Montalmander of the training his daughter Annabel van, a retired Spanish officers company, and Montalvan Corrales. soldier from Belmonte, graduated No. 5 with a Cuenca, Spain who was general average of 90.7% “One night after such experience his whole assigned by the Spanin 1938. ish government to the While assigned as the body became numb and his leg started to give Philippines and Concep- first camp commander him extreme pain. The cion Corrales y Roa of of Camp Evangelista, doctors at that time did Cagayan de Misamis. he graduated from the not know what it was In 1927, he was School of Military Law graduated with honand Courts-Martial Pro- but was later diagnosed as polyneuritis.” ors (3rd highest) from cedure, Camp Keithley, However, he successthe Philippine Dental Lanao in 1940. Upon By Mike Baños, Editor-at-Large
fully escaped and joined his family in Talakag, Bukidnon. He walked for days to Talakag, away from the road, because the Japanese were looking for him. Again, the rains came and soaked his clothes. When he got to Talakag he had very high fever and the polyneuritis he contracted became worse. He then proceeded to Misamis Occidental to join the guerrillas of Col. Wendell Fertig, commander of the Mindanao segment of the United States Forces in the Philippines (USFIP), which was made up of escaped prisoners-ofwar and Filipino and American soldiers and civilians who refused to surrender to the Japanese. Between 1942 and 1944, USFIP forces raided Japanese occupation forces in Mindanao and provided valuable intelligence to the Allied forces. For his military service before and during World War II, Dr. Montalvan received the following awards and decorations: Philippine Defense Medal; American Defense Medal; Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal; Philippine Republic Unit Citation Badge and the U.S. Distinguished Unit Badge. Following his polyneuritis, Dr. Montalvan reverted to inactive status on July 11, 1946 and was promoted to the rank of Major, Infantry
Officers of Camp Bulua (present day Camp Edilberto Evangelista) at Cagayan de Misamis in 1939. (Montalvan Family Archives)
1 Lt. Jose Manuel Corrales Montalvan as a member of the U.S. Army Reserve in 1928 (Montalvan Family Archives)
Reserve in January 20, 1950. “He suffered so much under the hands of the Japanese and often got slapped for no reason,” Ms. Montalvan said. “Many years later, that Japanese that put him under hard labor came back to Cagayan de Oro to apologize to him and to others he tortured. And my dad readily accepted his apology!” He resumed his duties as a professor of Spanish at the Ateneo in 1949 and took up law at the Cagayan Law School of the Ateneo, graduating with a degree of Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) in 1953, passed the Bar exams and was admitted to the Bar in June 1954 and established a law practice. He married the former Mercedes Acero Roa of Cagayan de Oro City and with whom he had six children: Marrieta, Daisy, Annabel, Eduardo, Consuelo and Antonio. Mr. Montalvan passed away on September 21, 1978, his patriotism and service to the country and military apparently forgotten by the new generation of Kagay-anons. To rectify this situation, Rep. Rufus B. Rodriguez (2nd District, Cagayan de Oro) and Rep. Maximo
B. Rodriguez, Jr. (Abante Mindanao- Party List) filed House Bill 4735 with the 15th Congress during its first regular session seeking to rename Camp Edilberto Evangelista to “Camp Jose Montalvan “in honor of a Kagay-anon and Mindanaoan war hero who fought against the Japanese to protect the freedom of the Philippines. Camp Edilberto Evangelista in Barangay Patag, Cagayan de Oro City, is the largest military camp in Mindanao with an area of 129 hectares. It is the home base to the Philippine Army’s 4th Infantry Division and covers the Northern Mindanao and Caraga regions. The explanatory note to the HB 4735 reads in part: “It is readily apparent that Major Montalvan is a war hero who has fought against the Japanese in order to ensure that the Philippines retain its independence. He gave up his best years in his life to fight for our country. It is therefore appropriate that he be honored by renaming Camp Evangelista into Camp Jose Montalvan, in honor of a Kagay-anon who risked his life for our country.”