Sol H. Gwekoh**
Simeon de Jesus distinguished himself as the commanding general of the Philippine Army Brigade that covered the withdrawal of the South Luzon Force, which was later ordered to proceed to Bataan. At the same time the South Luzon Force, under Gen. Albert M. Jones, was holding three different lines – the first at Lipa City in Batangas, the second at Tiaong in Tayabas (now Quezon), and the third at Luisiana in Laguna. Since Gen. Douglas MacArthur, supreme commander of the USAFFE (United States Armed Forces in the Far East), was “apprehensive that Gen. Jonathan M. Wainwright would not be able to hold the fourth delay phase line long enough” in the war against the Imperial Japanese Army, MacArthur directed Jones to speed up the withdrawal.
To De Jesus’ newly activated 51st Provisional Brigade, was also entrusted the security of the critical Batangas-Cavite coastline when the 41st Division, headed by Brigadier General Vicente Lim, vacated it on December 24, 1941. When World War II broke out in the Philippines, De Jesus was the deputy chief of staff of the Philippine Army. He was later designated the commanding general of the brigade. The Brigade was made up of various units of the Philippine Constabulary in Camp Crame and the surrounding areas. As it was constituted under De Jesus, its First PC Regiment was headed by Lieutenant Colonel Mariano Castañeda and the Second PC Regiment under Lieutenant Colonel Manuel Atanacio.
In the delaying action put up by the South Luzon Force at Tiaong, Major Jose H. Arambulo, commander of the First Battalion of the Second PC Regiment, was highly commended for the courageous actions of his men on the Morong-Bagac Road. De Jesus commanded the brigade until January 6, 1942, when it was deactivated and reconstituted into the Second Regular Division of the Philippine Army. Major General Guillermo B. Francisco, chief of the Philippine Constabulary, was named as the new division commandant. De Jesus was a teacher when he decided to pursue a military career. He enrolled at the Philippine Military Academy in Baguio City and was commissioned a third lieutenant in the Philippine Constabulary in 1916.
De Jesus as a young Philippine Constabulary 1st Lieutenant, 1918 (R. Consunji)
In recognition of his meritorious services, De Jesus was promoted to a first lieutenant in the following year (1917). Then he became a captain in 1922, a major in 1935, and a lieutenant colonel after two years (1937). After his tour of duty as the Constabulary provincial commander of Davao in Mindanao, De Jesus was detailed as a special assistant to the secretary to the interior. Following the Fall of Bataan, De Jesus rejoined the government service as chief of the Division of Rehabilitation of the Bureau of Public Welfare on July 16, 1943. Later he was appointed as the director of the Bureau of Veterans.
De Jesus (seated 2nd from right) with fellow Philippine Army officers, n.d. (R. Consunji)
In the next year, the Japanese military police finally caught up with De Jesus at the Settlement house in Paco, Manila on October 28, 1944, and held him incommunicado at the much-dreaded Fort Santiago in Intramuros. Later he was shot to death.
De Jesus was born in Barrio San Nicolas in Arayat, Pampanga, on September 3, 1894. He was the son of the couple Venancio de Jesus and Diega Paras. He was pursuing the secondary course at the Wright Institute in San Isidro, Nueva Ecija, when he passed the second-grade civil service examination. Two years later he graduated as the salutatorian of the Class of 1914.
*First published in the 20 September 1968 issue of the Manila Times
** Solomon H. Gwekoh is a prolific author and historian. He served as the Chairman of the National Historical Commission in 1965.