Manila mayor honors Gen. Vicente Lim

MANILA, Philippines – Manila Mayor Alfredo S. Lim honored Gen. Vicente Lim, the unsung hero of World War II, at his monument on Roxas Boulevard during the centennial celebration of the Se Jo Tong Lim Family Association, which has been donating wheelchairs to the mayor when he still had a television program. Lim is not related to the late general, but he put up the Vicente Lim monument during his first term as mayor of the nation's capital, using his personal funds. He said the late general was the founder of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines, while the latter’s wife, Pilar Hidalgo, was the founder of the Girl Scouts of the Philippines. "I put up this monument because Gen. Vicente Lim survived the infamous Bataan Death March, and on June 6, 1942, was admitted to the Philippine General Hospital for treatment of injuries sustained at Bataan," the mayor said. After his first term, Lim said the monument was neglected with no lights and no plants to make it worth looking at. "Now I made sure there are lights and plants that will adorn this place in his honor, for as long as I am mayor," he said. Every February 24, the Lim family always celebrates the birthday of the late general right where the monument stands because his house is just nearby, right in front of Century Park Sheraton. He asked the Se Jong Tong Lim Family Association to put up iron railings around the monument to keep away vandals. He also wants the front to be planted with Bermuda grass. - GMANews.TV