ACTIVITY #3: HISTORICAL SOURCES

CLAIM:
Ferdinand Marcos Sr. claimed that he was a decorated WWII soldier who led a
guerilla war unit called “The Maharlika”
FACT or FAKE?
Instructions:
Choose a side whether you PROVE/DISAPPROVE the claim above. Provide a minimum 5
online/offline sources that will support your claim. Formulate your own conclusion based from
the sources that you retrieved. TO BE SUBMITTED IN A HARD COPY.

Example:
1. Philstar.com NewsLab (https://newslab.philstar.com/31-years-of-amnesia/war-hero)
A study released by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) on
Independence Day last year said that Marcos lied about receiving three of his US medals: the
Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star, and Order of the Purple Heart.

Marcos' fabricated heroism was one of the reasons the state agency on the preservation of
Philippine history disputed his burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

A doubtful record, it argued, does not serve as a sound basis of historical recognition, let alone
burial in a space for heroes.

"The rule in history is that when a claim is disproven—such as Mr. Marcos's claims about his
medals, rank, and guerrilla unit—it is simply dismissed," NHCP said.

2. The Washington Post (https://www.washingtonpost.com/)

A Philippine government publicity brochure describes Marcos as "his country's most decorated
soldier," with more awards (32) than the 27 credited to American World War II hero Audie
Murphy. Allegedly included in these decorations are two U.S. Silver Stars and a Distinguished
Service Cross.
3. The New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/1986/01/23/world/marcos-s-wartime-
role-discredited-in-us-files.html)
In the Philippines, Mr. Marcos is widely described as the nation's most decorated war hero. The
Philippine Government says he won 32 medals for heroism during World War II, including two
from the United States Army. Two of the medals were for his activities as a guerrilla leader, but
the rest were for exploits before the United States surrender in 1942 or after the return of United
States forces to Luzon, the main Philippine Island, in 1945.

The validity of those medals has been challenged by Philippine and American journalists as well
as others. In response, the Philippine Government has vigorously contended that they were
properly earned and said the records validating them were destroyed in a fire. When the
Philippine newspaper We Forum published an article in 1982 questioning Mr. Marcos's war
record, Government authorities shut the paper down.

4. Always Wearing Black (https://alwayswearingblack.wordpress.com/2014/08/11/the-

marcos-myth-of-world-war-2-how-ferdinand-marcos-became-president/)
Marcos emerged from World War II with a reputation as the greatest Filipino resistance leader of
the war and the most decorated soldier in the U.S. armed forces. However, he spent the war on
both sides, lending support to both the Japanese and the United States. In early 1943 in Manila
(the capital of the Philippines), Marcos created a “secret” resistance organization called Ang
Mga Maharlika that he claimed consisted of agents working against the Japanese. In fact, the
group consisted of many criminals—forgers, pickpockets, gunmen, and gangsters—hoping to
make money in the wartime climate.
5. Martial Law Chronicles Project (https://www.martiallawchroniclesproject.com/wp-
content/uploads/2018/09/National-Historical-Commission-of-the-Philippines-Report-on-
Marcos-Medals.pdf)
Another part of Mr. Marcos’s claim to heroic fame rests on his leadership of the Ang Mga
Maharlika, a guerrilla unit that operated in Pangasinan and other parts of northern Luzon. U.S.
military records present a vastly different picture from the sanctioned biographical accounts of
Mr. Marcos. For one, American military officials entertained serious doubts about the status of
the Ang Mga Maharlika as a guerrilla organization. Lt. Kenneth H. Neubauer’s “Report on the
Allas Intelligence Unit” (21 July 1947), for example, described the Ang Mga Maharlika as “a
purported guerrilla unit” and questioned the practice of “collusion by many guerrilla leaders in
listing as members of their units men who were already members of other purported guerrilla
organizations,” which he found to be the case among supposed members of the Ang Mga
Maharlika and the Allas Intelligence Unit42 (the latter, led by Cipriano Allas, claimed to be the
intelligence unit of the former). U.S. officials believed that this practice was done to gain
eligibility for back pay and war benefits.

CONCLUSION:
I conclude that according to my research Ferdinand Marcos Sr. was a decorated WWII soldier.
Marcos built his career by projecting himself as a World War II hero. He claims to be an anti-
Japanese guerrilla commander who formed “The Maharlika” unit.

Mr. Marcos’s military record is fraught with myths, factual inconsistencies, and lies. The rule in
history is that when a claim is disproven—such as Mr. Marcos’s claims about his medals, rank,
and guerrilla unit—it is simply dismissed. When, moreover, a historical matter is under question
or grave doubt, as expressed in the military records about Mr. Marcos’s actions and character as
a soldier, the matter may not be established or taken as fact.
Colonel Bonifacio “Boni” Gillego who led a study made on “Marcos: FAKE HERO” found no
records in the War Archives that would support the awards supposedly received by Marcos. On
the contrary, fraudulent, and false claims as well as anti-guerilla propaganda files involving his
father and his group were uncovered.
Furthermore, grave doubts expressed in the military records about Mr. Marcos’s actions and
character as a soldier do not provide sound, unassailable basis for the recognition of a soldier
who deserves to be buried at the LNMB. On these grounds, coupled with Mr. Marcos’s lies
about his medals, the NATIONAL HISTORICAL COMMISSION OF THE PHILIPPINES
opposes the plan to bury Mr. Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.