In any war, moral questions arise such as: Does the reason, even a good one, rationalize waging a war? Is winning it worth all the bloodshed, hostilities, undefended innocent lives, extreme damage to properties, and the irreparable mutilation to the soul that it causes? Does the mean really justify the end?

Indeed, the business of war is a very complicated thing. As Prussian military theoretician Carl Von Clausewitz puts it, “every age had its own kind of war, its own limiting conditions, and its own peculiar preconceptions.” 

Throughout history, people have been waging wars for different reasons such as protecting their territory, declaring independence, and inflicting punishment, among others. Its scopes and forms are always changing, caused by the strategic and tactical aspects which are defined by the societies or entities participating in them. 

But no matter how morally problematic, undesirable, and tragic it is, war can be seen as a human activity where courage, honor, and ability are best displayed, where heroism and other virtues are flaunted more necessarily than in any other endeavor.

Such was the case in the Siege of Baler.  It has a different story: no single atrocity was committed on both sides of the Spanish and Filipino forces when the war ended, which is definitely a far cry from the traditional war finale where the stronger adversary keeps the captured territory and treats its prisoners quite poorly.

The Siege of Baler celebrates war at its finest moment, the renewal of friendship between two opposing forces, and the benevolent act that paved the way to a better relationship between the Philippines and Spain.

Sen. Edgardo Angara and Aurora Rep. Juan Edgardo Angara co-authored a bill, Republic Act 9187, declaring June 30 of every year as the Philippine-Spanish Friendship Day. The date was based on the day when President Emilio Aguinaldo issued a decree that commended the gallantry and nationalism of the 31 Spanish soldiers who made their last stand against the Filipinos, withstanding hunger, diseases, and death inside the Baler church.

This year, the people of Baler, Aurora commemorated the 110th anniversary of the Siege of Baler through the recent celebration of the 7th Philippine-Spanish Friendship Day. It is highlighted by the declaration of the Baler Church as a national historical landmark and National Cultural Treasure by the National Historical Institute.

The celebration was sponsored by the National Commission for the Culture and the Arts (NCAA) headed by Dr. Vilma Labrador and chairman and executive director Cecile Guidote-Alvarez. Those who attended were Ambassador of Spain to the Philippines Luis Arias, Aurora Gov. Bellaflor Angara-Castillo, Sen. Angara, Rep. Angara, and Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, who was guest speaker. This year, the Philippine-Spanish Friendship Day was part of the 400th founding anniversary of Baler, dubbed “The Quadri-centennial Year of Baler,” as declared by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo through Proclamation 1696.