ShareThisBALANGA CITY, Bataan — A big group of bikers have retraced the route of the dreaded Death March over the weekend in memory of thousands of Filipino and American soldiers who fought during World War II.
Bataan fell to the Japanese Imperial Army on April 9, 1942 and, the next day, the Death March began.
Retired Army Gen. Nicolas Ojeda, tour organizer of the Alay Sikad sa Kagitingan, said instead of marching, they decided to relive the horrifying experience of soldiers by biking from the “O” kilometer marker in Mariveles town, to the 106-kilometer marker in Capas, Tarlac.
Some 220 bikers, mostly coming from the Philippine Army, Philippine Navy, Presidential Security Group and other government and private agencies, composed the core group that started at 5:30 am Sunday in Mariveles.
More than 50 bikers from the province joined with the core group when they reached this city or Death March KM-44.
At the Plaza Mayor de Balanga, a short program was held where the bikers were entertained with dance numbers by candidates of the Mutya ng Balanga.
The city government under Mayor Jose Enrique Garcia III served light breakfast and bottled water to the participants of the bike-a-thon.
Ojeda said the number of bikers reached to 500 as they passed by Pampanga until they reached Capas, Tarlac past 4 p.m. of the same day.