When I was the Head of the Training and Education Department of the Philippine Army from August 1999 to April 2000, I successfully organized and conducted the first and last Bataan Death March Challenge on 16 April 2000 along the “original” route of the said historical Death March from Balanga, Bataan to Crossing, Dinalupihan, Bataan. Although it covers only a part of the actual Death March, the route covered a distance of 25 kilometers (almost 16 miles). It was attended by contingent teams from the US Army, teams from all the Commands of the Philippine Army and the AFP, and civilians with a total attendance to almost 500 individual participants.

Personally, I wanted this event to be commemorated in the very same place where the historic “Bataan Death March” was done during the early part of World War II. Sadly and unfortunately, a Bataan Memorial Death March is popularly held in White Sands, New Mexico, USA approximately on the days when this event happened in 1942. Not because some of the few Americans who marched were from New Mexico, USA does not mean that they have the authority to commemorate the said event in our history! More Filipinos died on that Death March and in the Camp O’Donnell Concentration Camp, and the actual place of the event is here in the Philippines make us the sole proper and legitimate authority to conduct this event. It is really frustrating for the people assigned after me in my former position that they were not able to continue and  push through with this historical and challenging event!

In the 2000 event, I copied the Categories of Participants in the US version. The Heavy Category was limited to only the Military teams. The Heavy/Military Category were in military uniform (Battle Dress Army/Camouflage with Combat Boots) with minimum load of 35 lbs. (16 kilos) on their backpacks. The Civilian category, mostly runners, were awarded individually while the Heavy/Military Category was a Team Competition (4 members). 

On the start line, finish line and along the route, there were lots of weighing scale available to check the weight of the backpacks of the Military Heavy Category team members. Discrepancies on the weights mean outright disqualification from the race!

I hope that the Veterans Federation of the Philippines/Sons and Daughters of WWII Veterans or the Armed Forces of the Philippines or any race organization in the country would be able to revive the conduct of the Bataan Death March Challenge along the actual route where the event happened (Mariveles, Bataan to San Fernando, Pampanga).