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NINETEENTH CONGRESS OF THE ) 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES )
First Regular Session 
)
SENATE
S.B. No. 452
QiO?- r.;
72 JUL12 P6 38
HHCHi•. .Ji
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR ROBINHOOD PADILLA
AN ACT
DECLARING SEPTEMBER 21 OF EVERY YEAR AS A SPECIAL NON­
WORKING HOLIDAY TO BE KNOWN AS "UNSUNG HEROES DAY"
EXPLANATORY NOTE
Over the last hundred years, communism has become one of the most 
absorbing ideologies that has brought consequential events across the world.
Among the most widely known political bloodshed anchored on this philosophy 
transpired in October 19171, when the Bolsheviks, a Marxist-Lenist organization that 
sought to establish the dictatorship of the proletariat, successfully seized power from 
the Russian Romanov monarchy. Since then, the communist ideology spread from one 
country to another in Europe, which culminated the ideological divide of the Iron 
Curtain in the continent between the liberal democracy of the West and Communist 
Bloc of Eastern Europe.
The diffusion of the ideology did not stop there. It spread simultaneously in 
Latin America and Asia where a number of revolutionary groups increased rapidly. 
They organized and armed themselves to overthrow their respective governments in 
the name of the communist ideology.
After the Soviet Expansion in Europe, North Korean invasion of South Korea in 
19502 and the emergence of the Chinese Communist Party, it was perceived that the
1 
History. (2020). Russian Revolution. Accessed on 04 July 2022 from https://www.history.com/ 
topics/ russia/ussian-revolution
2 
History. (2009). Korean War. Accessed on 01 July 2022 from https://www.history.com/ 
topics/korea/korean-war


next battlefield between the non-communist and communist forces would be in 
Southeast Asia.
Such prevision first came to life in Thailand when small groups of Pathet Lao 
insurgents infiltrated the northern part of the country in 1961. Records show that, 
since then until 1965, trained and indoctrinated guerillas were able to carry out 17 
political assassinations. In 1972, the Thai government implemented a six-week 
operation against the revolutionary group wherein 30 soldiers were killed, while 100 
were wounded.3
In Malaysia, the Malayan Communist Party (MCP) led an unsuccessful 
insurrection against the Federation of Malaya. The Malayan National Liberation Army 
(MNLA) established a series of bases along the Malaysian-Southern Thailand border. 
On June 17, 1968, the MCP launched an ambush against security forces in the area 
of Kroh-Betong in the northern part of Peninsular Malaysia resulting in the death of 
17 members of the security forces.4
In Indonesia, the Thirtieth of September Movement (G30S) assassinated six (6) 
Indonesian Army generals. The general and the bodies of their dead colleagues were 
taken to a place known as Lubang Buaya where those still alive were shot.5
The increasingly progressive momentum of communism and its violent 
transgressions against states had come closely relatable to our changing socio-political 
landscape at that time.
In the Philippines, the Marxist-Leninist-Maolst Communist Party of the 
Philippines (CPP) was founded in 1968 to overthrow the government and to establish 
a new democratic state.6 A year later, its armed wing, the New People's Army (NPA), 
was established. Together, they were referred to as the CPP-NPA founded by one Jose 
Marla Sison who led a Maoist-oriented youth faction within Partido Komunista ng 
Pilipinas (PKP), which was originally established in 1930. The PKP was found to be 
participating In electoral boycotts and employing a guerilla army to fight Japanese 
colonialism. United States colonialism, and Filipino elites.7
CIA. (1991). Communist Insurgency in Thaiiand. Accessed on 28 June 2022 through 
https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/ DOC_0000012498.pdf 
A. Navaratnam, The Spear and the Kerambit, p.8 
Sekretariat Negara Republik Indonesia (1994) p. 103
Center for International Security and Cooperation. “Mapping Militants Profile: Communist Party of 
the Philippines - New People's Army", cisac.fsi.stanford.edu. Stanford University, Stanford, 
California: Stanford University Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies - Center for 
International Security and Cooperation (CISAC). Retrieved 11 January 2020, from 
https.7/web.archive.org/web/20120306041535/http;//philippinesfreepress.wordpress.com/2006/08/ 
20/benigno-s-aquino-jr-man-of-the-year-1971/
Ibid.


A commission created by the CPP-NPA founded the National Democratic Front 
of the Philippines (NDF or NDFP) in 1973 which served as the political wing of the 
organization for the CPP-NPA and other mass revolutionary organizations. The 
government has used the name "CPP-NPA-NDF" or "CNN" to refer to the larger entity 
formed through the cooperation of the CPP-NPA and the NDF.8
Between January and March of 1970, the CPP-NPA increased membership from 
the leftist wave of student demonstrations, rallies, and marches later known as the 
First Quarter Storm. These protests were waged against then-President Ferdinand E. 
Marcos by student leaders who demanded constitutional change.
A sustained political unrest interrupted the political, social, and economic affairs 
of the State. The bombing of Plaza Miranda on August 21, 1971 claimed the lives of 
innocent people: 9 deaths and 95 wounded.9 Series of Manila bombings during the 
period of March 15 to September 11, 197210 which led to one death and 40 wounded 
also punctuated the political turmoil in the country. Former President Marcos 
attributed these to the communist insurgency threat posed by the CPP-NPA.
These events served as a prelude to the declaration of martial law on 
September 21, 1972.
The CPP-NPA continued to intensify its offensive against the State, moving from 
small guerilla units to military battalions in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. According 
to the Armed Forces of the Philippines, about 7,077 soldiers were killed by the NPA 
and the Moro National Liberation Front and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front from 
1975 to 1985.11
In 1985, CPP-NPA-related violence reached its height with 1,282 military and 
police deaths, 1,362 civilian deaths, and 2,134 CPP-NPA deaths.12
10
Santos, Jr., Soliman M., and Paz Verdades M. Santos. Primed and Purposeful; Armed Groups 
and Human Security Efforts in the Philippines. Geneva: Small Arms Survey, April 2010. Print. 
Center for International Security and Cooperation
Pedroso, K., Generalao, M. (2016) “September 1972: Recalling the last days and hours of 
democracf. Philippine Daily Inquirer.
11 Tiglao, R. (18 March 2022). “Most alleged 'human rights victims killed' were NPA and MNLF/MILF 
guerrillas." The Manila Times. Retrieved in 06 July 2022 from
https://www.manilatimes.net/2022/03/18/opinion/columns/most-alleged-human-rights-victims- 
killed-were-npa-and-mnlfmiIf-guerrillas/1836703
12 Center for International Security and Cooperation


In the long course of communist insurgency waged by the CPP-NPA-NDF, it 
cannot be denied that patriotic soldiers, officers, government officials, and civilians 
demonstrated courage, bravery, and passion. To date, many of them are nameless, 
and their contributions remain unacknowledged. As a tribute to these unsung heroes, 
the passage of this bill is earnestly sought.
DBINH0OD PADILLA


NINETEENTH CONGRESS OF THE ) 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES }
First Regular Session 
)
SENATE
s.B. No. 452
72 JUL 12 P6 38
RliCEiVcD 3V
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR ROBINHOOD PADILLA
AN ACT
DECLARING SEPTEMBER 21 OF EVERY YEAR AS A SPECIAL NON­
WORKING HOLIDAY TO BE KNOWN AS "UNSUNG HEROES DAY"
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled:
SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Unsung Heroes
Day".
SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is hereby the declared policy of the State 
to recognize the patriotism of our fallen soldiers, officers, officials, and citizens who 
have fought against the threat of communist insurgency led by the Communist Party 
of the Philippines - New People's Army (CPP-NPA).
SEC. 3. Special Non-Working Holiday. - To recognize the invaluable 
sacrifice of our fallen soldiers, officers, officials, and citizens, the State shall promote 
the observance of September 21 of every year as "Unsung Heroes Day" and proclaim 
the same as a special non-working holiday.
SEC. 4. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after 
its publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.
Approved,