Salvador A . Rodolfo , Sr . Col . Salvador Rodolfo , Sr . ( 7 February 1919 – 9 January 2012 ) was a Filipino soldier who helped liberate the Island Province of Catanduanes in the Philippines from the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II . He was known in Catanduanes as “ Phantom ” or the " Man who Never Dies " , based on the comic book hero created by Lee Falk in 1936 . He organized the Catanduanes Liberation Forces ( CLF ) , the guerilla unit that paved the way for the liberation of Catanduanes in 1945 . As a result , Japanese forces were destroyed before the American forces arrived in Catanduanes in 1945 . Personal life . Rodolfo was born in 1919 in Bato , Catanduanes , Philippines . He was a descendant of Don Juan Rodolfo of Almeria , Spain who went to the Philippines in the 18th century and married the daughter of Datu Bantog , who was then one of the Tribal Chieftains in Catanduanes , in order to put to a halt the hostilities between the natives and the Spaniards . The Rodolfos played an important role in Catanduanes politics in the Spanish Colonial Period . His father , Roman Rodolfo , was an undefeated Mayor of Bato , and his mother , Maria Tan Arambulo , was a Chinese businesswoman . World War II . When the Second World War broke out , Rodolfo was called to arms in defense of the Philippines against the invading Japanese Imperial Forces . He fought in the three - month Battle of Bataan in 1942 , and was a survivor of the Bataan Death March . While in Camp O ’ Donnel in Capas , Tarlac , he met the then Lt . Ferdinand E . Marcos , who would later on become President of the Philippines . He was released later . After being released from the camp in Capas , Rodolfo organized the Catanduanes Liberation Forces . Catanduanes Liberation Forces . The Catanduanes Liberation Forces headed and organized by Rodolfo was the resistance movement in Catanduanes . During this time , Rodolfo was rumored several times to have been killed in battle but returned to fight in Catanduanes , hence he was called “ Phantom ” or the Man who never dies . Liberation . On February 8 , 1945 , when Rodolfo was about to declare the independence of the province after he and his men killed every Japanese Imperial Army and burned every Japanese garrison in Catanduanes , one of his men approached him and said that there were Japanese reinforcements on board 2 vessels approaching the island . He then talked to his men , most of whom were wounded and exhausted , he said : Japanese reinforcements are coming . I have two options for you , we can go to the hills and save ourselves and wait there until the Americans arrive , but I assure you that all civilians left behind will be massacred by the incoming Japanese , or we can repeat what happened in the Battle of Thermopylae and stand our ground . Most of us will die , but we will live forever in the pages of history as the men who fought for the liberation of Catanduanes With that , everybody decided to stand their ground and fight the incoming Japanese . They went to their posts to wait for the enemy ’ s arrival but then , as if by providence , American planes arrived and bombed the Japanese vessels . Rodolfo declared independence of the entire province on February 8 , 1945 . Later life and death . In later years , he played a role in local politics in the 80s and 90s serving as Senior Provincial Board Member of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan and acting Vice Governor in Catanduanes . He was a key ally of the late Gov . Leandro Verceles , Sr . ultimately bringing an end to the political dynasty in the province . In 1995 , he was appointed as Chief Security Consultant in the Bureau of Immigration under then Commissioner Leandro Verceles during Pres . Fidel V . Ramos Administration . He was granted US Citizenship in 1992 after the US Congress passed the law granting citizenship to the USAFFE Veterans who served under Gen . Douglas McArthur . He decided to stay in America for good in 2002 . He died on January 9 , 2012 at Los Robles Hospital in Thousand Oaks , California . He was a month away from his 93rd birthday . He is buried at the Garden of Valor in Valley Oaks - Griffin Memorial Park in Westlake Village , California .