Macario Peralta Jr. (July 30, 1913 – January 7, 1975) was a Filipino soldier, lawyer, senator and Secretary of National Defense.

Early life

Born in

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

on July 30, 1913 of Ilocano- Pangasinan descent, Peralta grew up in

Tarlac Tarlac, officially the Province of Tarlac ( pam, Lalawigan ning Tarlac; pag, Luyag/Probinsia na Tarlac; ilo, Probinsia ti Tarlac; tgl, Lalawigan ng Tarlac; ), is a landlocked province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. It ...

. He finished his Bachelor of Laws degree at the University of the Philippines, graduating cum laude, in 1936. He passed the bar the same year, obtaining second place to Diosdado Macapagal.

Career

Army Officer

Peralta joined the

Philippine Army The Philippine Army (PA) (Tagalog: ''Hukbong Katihan ng Pilipinas''; in literal English: ''Army of the Ground of the Philippines''; in literal Spanish: ''Ejército de la Tierra de la Filipinas'') is the main, oldest and largest branch of the ...

in 1936 as a reserve officer and was later commissioned in the regular force as second Lieutenant. His first assignment was in

Cebu Cebu (; ceb, Sugbo), officially the Province of Cebu ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sugbo; tl, Lalawigan ng Cebu; hil, Kapuroan sang Sugbo), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 16 ...

as Commandant of the Visayan Institute ROTC cadets, later at the Adamson University in Manila. He attended the Philippine Army Infantry School in 1940, finishing at the top of his class. War found him back in the

Visayas The Visayas ( ), or the Visayan Islands (Visayan: ''Kabisay-an'', ; tl, Kabisayaan ), are one of the three principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, along with Luzon and Mindanao. Located in the central part of the archipelago, ...

as Chief of Operations of the 61st Division, then being mobilized in

Iloilo Iloilo (), officially the Province of Iloilo ( hil, Kapuoran sang Iloilo; krj, Kapuoran kang Iloilo; tl, Lalawigan ng Iloilo), is a province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital is the City of Iloilo, the ...

. After the surrender of the

USAFFE United States Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE) ( Filipino: ''Hukbong Katihan ng Estados Unidos sa Malayong Silangan/HKEUMS''; Spanish: ''Fuerzas del Ejército de los Estados Unidos en el Lejano Oriente'') was a military formation of the Uni ...

troops to the Japanese, Peralta, then a Colonel, organized and led the guerrillas in Panay,Lapham, R., and Norling, B., 1996, Lapham's Raiders, Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky,

Romblon Romblon ( , ), officially the Province of Romblon, is an archipelagic province of the Philippines located in the Mimaropa region. Its main islands include Tablas, the largest, which covers nine municipalities; Sibuyan with its three towns; as w ...

Palawan Palawan (), officially the Province of Palawan ( cyo, Probinsya i'ang Palawan; tl, Lalawigan ng Palawan), is an archipelagic province of the Philippines that is located in the region of Mimaropa. It is the largest province in the country in t ...

, Marinduque and portions of

Masbate Masbate, officially the Province of Masbate ( Masbateño: ''Probinsya san Masbate''; tl, Lalawigan ng Masbate), is an island province in the Philippines located near the midsection of the nation's archipelago. Its provincial capital is Masbate C ...

and

Mindoro Mindoro is the seventh largest and eighth-most populous island in the Philippines. With a total land area of 10,571 km2 ( 4,082 sq.mi ) and has a population of 1,408,454 as of 2020 census. It is located off the southwestern coast of Luz ...

, all in or bordering the

Western Visayas Western Visayas ( hil, Kabisay-an Nakatundan; tl, Kanlurang Kabisayaan or ''Kanlurang Visayas'') is an administrative region in the Philippines, numerically designated as Region VI. It consists of six provinces (Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Guimaras ...

. Col. Peralta's guerrilla forces controlled much of Panay when the Americans returned on March 18, 1945.Smith, R.R., 2005, Triumph in the Philippines, Honolulu: University Press of the Pacific, Sawang WW-II Plaque

In this resistance campaign against the Japanese, Peralta displayed his exemplary leadership, competence and gallantry in action. For this he was awarded the

Distinguished Service Star The Distinguished Service Star is the third highest military award of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. It is awarded for eminently meritorious and valuable service rendered while holding a position of great responsibility. Description of the ...

. The United States government conferred on him the

Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) is a military decoration awarded to ...

and the Silver Star. The Distinguished Service Cross was presented to him on Panay, soon after liberation, as can be seen i
this video
on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

of the Panay landing taken by the Army Pictorial Service. Returning to military control in 1945, he was subsequently sent to the

Command and General Staff College The United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC or, obsolete, USACGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military ...

Fort Leavenworth Fort Leavenworth () is a United States Army installation located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, in the city of Leavenworth. Built in 1827, it is the second oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C., and the oldest perma ...

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

, in the United States for advanced studies. He came home with a special commendation from the commandant of the school for his "brilliant and unexcelled scholastic record". Late in 1945, he was promoted to

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

, and was designated Deputy Chief of Staff of the Philippine Army. He resigned from the Army in 1946 and was appointed by President

Manuel Roxas Manuel Acuña Roxas (born Manuel Roxas y Acuña; ; January 1, 1892 – April 15, 1948) was a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the fifth president of the Philippines, who served from 1946 until his death due to heart attacks in 19 ...

as Chairman of the Philippine Veterans Board, a position he served until 1949. With the Magsaysay Mission to the United States which he helped organize, he was able to obtain substantial benefits for the disabled veterans. Again, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Star by the Philippine government for this mission. At 36, he ran for the

Philippine Senate The Senate of the Philippines ( Filipino: ''Senado ng Pilipinas'', also ''Mataas na Kapulungan ng Pilipinas'' or "upper chamber") is the upper house of Congress of the bicameral legislature of the Philippines with the House of Representatives a ...

and was elected in 1949 under the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

. Among his achievements at the Senate were the expose of the Tambobong-Buenavista estate deal; procurement of supplies and equipment for the Filipino troops in Korea, so called

Philippine Expeditionary Forces to Korea The Philippine Expeditionary Force to Korea (PEFTOK) ( Filipino: ''Puwersang Expedisyonarya ng Pilipinas sa Korea'' or ''PEPK,'' Spanish: ''Fuerza Expedicionaria Filipina a Corea'' or ''FEFC,'' ) was the Philippine Army contingent of the United N ...

(PEFTOK); legislation giving veterans priority in employment and others. In 1955, he was elected as one of the outstanding senators when his Senate term ended, Peralta returned to law practice. It was President Macapagal who persuaded him to handle the defense portfolio, a position he had twice refused after the "exemplary devotion to duty and for being the most valuable cabinet member" in the first year of the Macapagal administration. The President also appointed him head of the Philippine Virginia Tobacco Administration (PVTA). He was awarded by the Confederation of Filipino Veterans (CONVETS) for distinguished service to Filipino veterans. He was a recipient of the Gold Cross Medal for gallantry in action in Panay.

Personal life and death

Peralta was married to Natividad Kasilag of

Batangas Batangas, officially the Province of Batangas ( tl, Lalawigan ng Batangas ), is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region on Luzon. Its capital is the city of Batangas, and is bordered by the provinces of Cavite and La ...

with whom he had three children - Macario III, Cecilia, and Engelbert. He died on January 7, 1975 and is buried at the Balantang Memorial Cemetery National Shrine in Jaro,

Iloilo City Iloilo City, officially the City of Iloilo ( hil, Siyudad/Dakbanwa sang Iloilo; fil, Lungsod ng Iloilo), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines on t ...

References

Bibliography

Biography of Secretary Peralta

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Peralta, Macario Jr. 1913 births People from Manila People from Tarlac Philippine Army personnel 1975 deaths Recipients of the Silver Star Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United States) Recipients of the Distinguished Service Star Recipients of the Gold Cross (Philippines) Senators of the 2nd Congress of the Philippines Senators of the 3rd Congress of the Philippines Secretaries of National Defense of the Philippines Liberal Party (Philippines) politicians Philippine Army personnel of World War II Macapagal administration cabinet members