Rafael Ledesma Jalandoni (October 24, 1894 – April 29, 1949) was a

Philippine Constabulary The Philippine Constabulary (PC; , ''HPP''; ) was a gendarmerie-type military police force of the Philippines from 1901 to 1991, and the predecessor to the Philippine National Police. It was created by the Insular Government, American occupat ...

officer who served as the 3rd Chief of Staff of the

Armed Forces of the Philippines The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) () are the military forces of the Philippines. It consists of three main service branches; the Philippine Army, Army, the Philippine Air Force, Air Force, and the Philippine Navy, Navy (including the P ...

. He was appointed by President

Manuel Roxas Manuel Acuña Roxas (; January 1, 1892 – April 15, 1948) was a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the fifth president of the Philippines from 1946 until his death in 1948. He served briefly as the third and last President of the ...

in 1946 after gaining independence from United States. He retired in 1948.

Early life

Jalandoni was born in

Pontevedra, Negros Occidental Pontevedra, officially the Municipality of Pontevedra, is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Negros Occidental, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 54,502 people. ...

to Manuel Jalandoni and Paula Ledesma. He commanded the 3rd PC Regiment in Mindanao and later served as an aide of President

Manuel L. Quezon Manuel Luis Quezon y Molina (, , , ; 19 August 1878 – 1 August 1944), also known by his initials MLQ, was a Filipino people, Filipino lawyer, statesman, soldier, and politician who was president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines from 1 ...

. He was in command of the PC Department of Central Luzon at the start of the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...

in 1941.

World War II

He served during World War II fighting Japanese forces in Southern Luzon and

Bataan Bataan (, , , ; ) , officially the Province of Bataan, is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Its capital is the city of Balanga while Mariveles is the largest town in the province. Occupying the entire Bataan Peninsula ...

. He commanded the 3th Infantry (PC) Regiment of the 2nd Regular Division activated in Bataan under the command of MGen. Guillermo Francisco, the concurrent chief of the

. He was a POW when the Luzon Force surrendered on April 9, 1942. He endured the

Bataan Death March The Bataan Death March was the Death march, forcible transfer by the Imperial Japanese Army of around 72,000 to 78,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war (POWs) from the municipalities of Bagac and Mariveles on the Bataan Peninsula to Camp ...

and was imprisoned at Capas Internment Camp. He was released in August of that year along with all Filipino soldiers.

Later career and death

After the war he was appointed by President

Sergio Osmeña Sergio Osmeña Sr. (, ; zh, c=吳文釗, poj=Gô͘ Bûn-chiau; September 9, 1878 – October 19, 1961) was a Filipino people, Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the List of presidents of the Philippines, fourth president of the Ph ...

as the new Chief of Staff of the Philippine Army and promoted to Major General on December 21, 1945 until December 20, 1948. He was succeeded by Brigadier General Mariano Castañeda as Chief of Staff upon his retirement. In April 28, 1949, Jalandoni accompanied former first Lady

Aurora Quezon Aurora Antonia Aragon Quezon (born Aurora Antonia Aragón y Molina; February 19, 1888 – April 28, 1949) was the wife of Philippine President Manuel Luis Quezon and the First Lady of the Philippines from 1935 to 1944. Although she is recognize ...

, widow of former President

on her way to the town of

Baler A baler or hay baler is a piece of farm machinery used to compress a cut and raked crop (such as hay, cotton, flax straw, salt marsh hay, or silage) into compact bales that are easy to handle, transport, and store. Often, bales are config ...

, together with her daughter Maria Aurora (Baby) Quezon, son-in-law Felipe Buencamino III, and grandson to unveil a marker in memory of her late husband. In

Bongabon Bongabon, officially the Municipality of Bongabon (; ), is a municipality in the province of Nueva Ecija, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 66,839 people. Bongabon is the leading producer of onion in the Philipp ...

Nueva Ecija Nueva Ecija, officially the Province of Nueva Ecija ( ; ; ; ), is a landlocked province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is the city of Palayan, while Cabanatuan, its former capital, is the largest Local gove ...

, their vehicle was ambushed by

Hukbalahap The Hukbong Bayan Laban sa Hapon (), better known by the acronym Hukbalahap, was a Filipino communist guerrilla movement formed by the farmers of Central Luzon. They were originally formed to fight the Japanese, but extended their fight int ...

rebels, and all four were killed.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jalandoni, Rafael 20th-century Filipino military personnel Philippine Army generals Philippine Constabulary personnel 1894 births Year of death unknown Philippine Military Academy alumni Bataan Death March prisoners People from Negros Occidental Filipino military personnel of World War II